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Fitness Plans for Kids

With growing rates of childhood obesity, it's important to get your children off the couch and into a more active lifestyle. Getting your children active now will help them establish healthy habits later in life. Just make it fun and get active with them. The Mayo Clinic advises incorporating fitness activities for your children in a way that engages them and keeps them interested rather than putting your children on a formal fitness plan.

  1. Group Classes

    • Classes should have about 35 to 45 minutes of "start-and-stop activities," recommends Dr. Cindy Bross in an article for IDEA Health & Fitness Association. Have the children warm up with a game of tag or some hula hooping. Use jump roping as a way to get their heart rates up. Make sure you finish with some stretching to help them cool down and increase flexibility.

    Family Activities

    • Get active with your kids. It's a great way for the family to get some exercise and spend some quality time together. Go for a bike ride, play some touch football or take a hike together. You can include your neighbors and host a neighborhood kickball tournament. Go bowling, to a trampoline house or a climbing wall.

    Strength Training

    • Strength training, not to be confused with weight lifting or muscle building, is great for kids. The Mayo Clinic recommends light resistance using the child's own body weight or resistance tubing and small free weights. Make sure the movements are controlled and that you put a large emphasis on teaching the child the correct technique and safety. Strength training will help increase the child's strength and endurance while protecting her against injury. It helps bone strength, boosts a child's metabolism and helps him maintain a healthy weight and blood pressure level. Children can start strength training about the age of 8. According the Mayo Clinic, you should seek the help of a trainer to ensure your child learns the proper technique. You should also stretch their muscles and warm up before working out. In addition, always supervise the child to make sure she is not injured and does not try to take on too much weight.

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