In the city of Adelaide, just like in other cities, parents face the common challenge of dragging their kids away from in front of their screens – between the Ipad, Playstation, computer, and TV, children can spend up to 7 hours a day sitting in front of a screen! Way more than the maximum recommended 2 hours. So while you’re keen to get in a workout, you’re also keen to get your kids up and away from the screen. Why not get your kids involved, too, and work out together!? To keep kids interested, exercises have to be fun, fast, and simple. Too difficult, slow, or complicated, and you’ll lose their interest. Also, keep in mind children are still growing, and until they are fully developed, you should avoid any heavy lifting or extreme exercise. At Fitness Enhancement Adelaide, we have trainers who are experienced and skilled in training kids. We believe that exercise is for everyone, even for kids. Hence, we cater to all ages and abilities.
This is your opportunity to help your kids develop a positive relationship with exercise that they will hopefully carry with them into adulthood. Stay positive and keep it light, nothing too structured or strict, make it feel like a game not like a workout.
The following are some examples of exercises, movements and games you can play with your kids (from around age 4 up to about 12 years old) that will make the workout fun for both of you, and maybe help them burn off some of that excess energy they’ve accumulated while sitting at their screen. Our Fitness Enhancement Personal Trainers are experienced in training children of all ages, your kids are welcome to join in to your mobile Personal Training sessions!
Bear Crawl
A bear crawl is with hands and feet on the floor, knees bent, crawl around like a bear. Roaaarrr! Set a course – eg) crawl around the dining table and back.
Frog hops
Feet and hands flat on the floor, sitting your bum down and knees bent, jump like a frog. Set yourself a distance – eg) hop across the back yard and back.
Crab crawl
Sitting on the floor, put your feet out in front and your hands out behind and pop yourself up into a ‘tabletop’ position, with your hips and tummy up in the air (you should feel your triceps working hard). Crawl around an obstacle or get a soccer ball and play ‘crab soccer’.
Tag/Tiggy
You know how this game works, one person is ‘it’ and they have to tag someone else so they become ‘it’. Great for cardio!
Follow the leader
Take the kids out in the back yard or to the park, and one at a time each person gets to be the ‘leader’ and move around in whatever fashion they like – followed by everyone else. 
Fitness challenge
Set a timer and see how long you can hold a plank, wall sit, do star jumps, pushups etc.
Suicide runs
Use a tennis court or basketball court with lines on it OR set up 5 cones or markers about 5-10 metres apart. Run up to cone 1 back to the start, then to cone 2 and back, then 3 and so on all the way up to cone 5 and back again. Make it a race!
Playground obstacle course
Pick a challenging pathway through a playground and time how long it takes to get through. Then try to beat your time.
Deck of cards
Get out a deck of cards and a piece of paper or white board. Assign one of the above exercises (or any other of your choice – simple bodyweight exercises are best for kids like squats, lunges, push ups, crunches etc) to each suit eg) hearts = star jumps. When you pull an 8 of hearts, that means 8 star jumps. Assign difficult exercises to the face cards since there are only 4 of each, and the joker can be your absolute most hated exercise (burpees?) Play for as long you can last, or the kids get bored!
Our Mobile Personal Trainers from Adelaide allow families to break free from excessive screen time and embrace a healthier lifestyle together. Through the guidance of our trainers, tailored, fun, and engaging workouts that captivate kids’ interests and inspire them to stay active are possible. By making fitness a delightful family affair, parents nurture their children’s physical health and foster connections and an appreciation for exercise. So, get in touch with us today and book your first session.
