Teaching Children To Exercise

As parents we are responsible for teaching our children the value of health and fitness and how to achieve and maintain a high level of both throughout their lives. We teach them to eat the appropriate types and amount of food to provide their bodies with the energy and nutrients they need to feel and perform well and maintain a healthy body composition. We teach them how to wash and bathe and care for their teeth and hair to maintain good hygiene and minimize their risk of diseases and infections. We teach them to get enough of both physical activity and sleep because of the contributions these make to health and fitness. When they don’t want to do these things we are responsible for making the decision for them because we know how important they are. No matter how many times your child might tell you they don’t want to brush their teeth or eat their vegetables if you are a responsible parent you make them do it anyway. Exercise should be no different.

Why? Because while all the other things I mentioned are important for building and maintaining a fit, healthy body, a proper exercise program is by far the most effective way to improve all of the the general*, trainable** factors of functional ability and is an absolute requirement for maintaining these in the long run:

  1. muscular strength and endurance
  2. cardiovascular and metabolic conditioning
  3. flexibility
  4. bone and connective tissue strength
  5. body composition

luke-shrug-bar-deadlift

If your children are already physically active aren’t they getting exercise? No. Contrary to popular belief general physical activity does not qualify as exercise. While sufficiently demanding physical activities can have beneficial physical effects, exercise is an activity specifically designed for the purpose of effectively, safely, and efficiently stimulating improvements in functional ability. For example, the primary purpose of running, jumping, climbing and swimming is locomotion not exercise, and unlike squats, chin-ups, and other proper exercises these activities do not efficiently work muscle groups against significant resistance in accordance with muscle and joint function for the primary purpose of stimulating improvements in functional ability and are relatively ineffective for that purpose by comparison.

Children need both exercise and physical recreation but it is important to make a distinction between the two. If people assume recreational activities provide effective exercise they are less likely to engage in an actual, proper exercise program and obtain the benefits thereof. Also, when people try to turn physical recreation into exercise they take some of the fun out of it defeating the primary purpose of those activities. When you combine the two you end up with something that is both less fun and less effective for improving functional ability. Don’t do it. Make time for both instead.

Whether your child is ready to begin an exercise program depends on their ability to understand and follow instructions and whether they are mature enough to take it seriously. Some children might be ready earlier, some later. If you’re not sure whether they’re ready, wait. If your child sees you working out they may try to emulate you, and this should not be discouraged, but if you don’t think they’re ready to work out on their own they should not be allowed to use real weights or machines unsupervised since these can seriously injure or kill a child if misused. In this case, I recommend telling them they can use the equipment but only when you are with them supervising (being in the same room is not enough, you have to pay attention to what they’re doing) and only if they use it correctly.

Luke Baye performs a ball planche on the parallettes

Children should be taught basic, compound bodyweight exercises first since these are the easiest to teach and learn and help develop good habits that will carry over to free weight and machine exercises if they choose to use them later. Most bodyweight exercises are safer than free weight exercises because although there is a slight falling risk there is no risk of dropping a weight on themselves, and bodyweight exercises are less likely to encourage “ego lifting” than exercises performed with weights. Bodyweight exercises are also a better option than machines for younger children since most machines are designed for adults and too large for them to use correctly.

The first few months of training should focus more on learning and practicing general exercise safety and proper exercise form than effort, and children should be taught that how well they perform each repetition of an exercise is far more important than how many repetitions they perform. Only a few exercises should be taught at a time, and the child should be allowed to become proficient in these before new ones are added. Children should only be encouraged to perform an exercise more intensely after they are able to consistently perform it with good form.

I recommend starting with a shorter version of the Kratos workout from the Project Kratos bodyweight training program handbook, with the exercises taught and performed in the following order:

  1. Squat
  2. Chin-up
  3. Push-up
  4. Hip Raise
  5. Crunch
  6. Heel Raise

Start with only the first three and gradually build from there. Normally you should only perform one set of each exercise, but in the beginning these three can be performed for three circuits as a 3×3 workout to provide more form practice and a greater cardiovascular and metabolic conditioning effect. If you do not have a chin-up bar or an adjustable suspension trainer there are isometric substitutes for these exercises which require no equipment at all covered in Project Kratos.

Consistency is important if you want your child to develop good exercise habits but it is neither necessary nor beneficial for your child to exercise more than three times a week on non-consecutive days once they develop the ability to train with a high level of intensity. Since a workout should take less than thirty minutes to complete it should not be difficult for most children to find time, but if yours has a particularly busy schedule even only one or two workouts per week can be highly effective if performed properly and with sufficient effort.

Some children make take to exercise enthusiastically while others may stubbornly refuse at first, but regardless, if you teach them to exercise properly and help them to make it a habit in the long run they will thank you for it.

Luke Baye doing dumbbell presses at 2 years old.

*Improvements in general factors of functional ability affect your ability to perform any physical activity, while improvements in specific factors like skill do not transfer between activities.

**Some general factors of functional ability like musculoskeletal geometry and neurological efficiency are genetically dictated and not improvable through exercise.

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  • Patrick Sep 2, 2015 @ 14:12

    nice article!
    would you recommend kids do cardio once or twice a week as many certifications say something to the effect of “cardo aids recovery by getting the blood and nutirents in the blood flowing to the muscles and other parts of the human body”
    whats your view on this common statement

  • Paul Sep 2, 2015 @ 16:37

    Drew,

    Interesting article!

    I have a question about strength training and safety for your arterials and I’m wondering if you ever heard or read about this, but quite a few studies reported that chronic resistance training is associated with arterial stiffening. What do you think about this? Probably you wrote about this before, but didn’t notice this. Perhaps because of low volume of HIT this is not a problem?

    Paul Vos

    • Drew Baye Sep 3, 2015 @ 12:38

      Hey Paul,

      Arterial stiffening only appears to be a problem with higher volume strength training and not with low-volume HIT programs.

    • Greg Sep 3, 2015 @ 20:37

      Hi Paul,
      Sorry to jump in here, but you may find this interesting by Doug McGuff.
      Go to http://www.ultimate-exercise.com and open the articles section. In there there’s a few things you could read regarding your question. Well closely enough anyways. You could read the ‘cardiovascular adaptations’ and the other is ‘the relationship between muscular, cardiovascular and metabolic adaptations: an opinion’
      There is much more in there to read also, and together with all the information on Drew’s site, you can amass a huge amount of no bullshit knowledge.
      Hope it helps.

  • Paul Sep 3, 2015 @ 15:38

    Hey Drew,

    Thanks for your response.
    A while back I read something at the website of clarence bass about slow or fast lifting.

    Ome of the arguments was that “slow, prolonged lifting impairs blood flow to and from the heart. Obstruction is virtually complete when the force of muscle contraction effort reaches 80 percent of maximum…..” “forceful weight training can result in stiffer arteries”.

    (Although I don’t know how to interpret “forceful”)

    http://www.cbass.com/SLOWFAST.HTM

    Do you think this is nonsense too?

    • Drew Baye Sep 3, 2015 @ 15:49

      Hey Paul,

      This doesn’t appear to be the case. If it was we’d have seen a noticeable increase in instances of cardiovascular problems with people performing very slow repetitions, but we don’t.

  • Paul Sep 9, 2015 @ 8:14

    Hi Greg,

    Thanks for your message and link!

    I certainly will check this information.

    Regarding the studies about this subject, I found also a positive recent study about long-term intense resistance training and aortic stiffness

    They found that weight training is not only healthy for your heart, but also for your cholesterol, your blood pressure, and your waistline…

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24351804

  • Pascal Sep 9, 2015 @ 8:42

    This article is very timely for me 😉 My son (10yo) hockey season just started, he is a goalie and made it to the highest tier for his age group(BB) so needless to say that conditioning will be very important this year. Right now at the beginning of the year we can see that he has lost some strength an explosiveness over the summer as he is not as quick to get up from a butterfly position or move from post to post (t-push). Now I know that if I ask around for advice on how to improve this I will be told to have him do cardio training like going up and down he stairs, jumping the stairs, going up with only one leg etc.

    But since I’m a HIT proponent, I believe a proper strength training with emphasize on legs, glutes and core will be more helpful. So I’ll try to come up with a routine he can do once or twice a week in between practices and games(which are usually 3 times/w).

    Let me know if you have any hints that could help, otherwise thank you for the great article.

    Pascal

    • Drew Baye Sep 9, 2015 @ 10:35

      Hey Pascal,

      You’re welcome. Properly performed squats and hip raises will do it, as will belt squat and deadlift timed static contractions. I recommend starting wiith the modified workout above from Project Kratos using a suspension trainer anchored to an overhead joist or the top of a door frame for leg-assisted chin-ups and rows if you do not have bars for these at home.

  • BW Sep 10, 2015 @ 15:26

    Drew, very good post. My son is in soccer and my daughter is starting ice hockey. I got them started doing squats and the plank position initially. They’re both comfortable with these movements. I’ll incorporate your ideas for chin ups and then build them up to 3×3 on each. Thanks for the pointers.

    • Drew Baye Sep 11, 2015 @ 16:13

      Hey BW,

      You’re welcome, and it’s great that you’re doing this for your kids.

  • Evert Sep 12, 2015 @ 8:07

    Drew,
    Thanks for sharing this valuable article.
    Your arguments about telling if a child is ready to perform HIT exercise seem mainly based on the ability of a child to be serious and mature enough to get involved in training. I have always learned children should not perform weight training as long as they are still growing. This is because resistense training would impair longitudal growth of the bones.
    What’s your take on this?
    Thanks.

    • Drew Baye Sep 12, 2015 @ 10:10

      Hey Evert,

      Great question, thank you. Proper strength training will not stunt a child’s growth. The belief probably resulted from people confusing correlation for causation when observing the stature of athletes in strength sports like Olympic weightlifting and power lifting and in sports like gymnastics which require a high strength to bodyweight ratio. Shorter limbs are advantageous for these activities because they provide better leverage for lifting, so people who are shorter will tend to select themselves for and perform better in them. These activities don’t make people shorter, they are just more attractive to shorter people because they’re easier for them so you’ll see more short people participating. On the opposite end of the spectrum are sports like basketball and volleyball. These activities don’t make people taller, they are just more attractive to taller people because their greater height and reach is advantageous so you’ll see more tall people participating. Proper strength training will no more stunt a child’s growth than playing basketball will make them grow taller.

      The reason I emphasize proper strength training is that while strength training is one of the safest things you can do if you’re doing it right, it can be very dangerous if you’re doing it wrong. Cases of spine and growth plate injuries which negatively effected height were caused by injuries resulting from improper performance. According to a 2009 review on research of strength training in children and adolescents from 1980 to 2008, “The case reports of injuries related to strength training, including epiphyseal plate fractures and lower back injuries, are primarily attributed to the misuse of equipment, inappropriate weight, improper technique, or lack of qualified adult supervision.”

      If children are taught to strength train properly, using guidelines like the ones I wrote in Safety Considerations for Exercise, How To Train Intensely Without Wrecking Yourself In The Process, and How To Correctly Use A Barbell, And How NOT To, the risk of injury is incredibly low.

      Dahab, Katherine Stabenow, and Teri Metcalf McCambridge. “Strength Training in Children and Adolescents: Raising the Bar for Young Athletes?” Sports Health 1.3 (2009): 223–226. PMC. Web. 12 Sept. 2015.

  • Evert Sep 12, 2015 @ 15:24

    Drew!

    Thank you for your very complete reply. Makes sense.
    I will check those resources you mention.
    Best regards from the Netherlands – Evert

  • Ben Tucker Sep 25, 2015 @ 20:58

    Drew,

    Thank you, immensely, for this information that definitely needed to be addressed! A very poignant article.

    Like so many, I’ve given into the myth that children before a certain age are too young to strength train. This article blasted the last remaining impediments of this fallacy out of my mind.

    I’ve 2 boys, 11 & 16 years old. My 16 year old has been training for a year, 1-2 times a week. Only wish I’d started him sooner. He’s doing a big 5 to start and showing great progress. Moderate weight increases in most exercises and he’s gained 5 lbs since May 2015. He’s getting more solid for sure.
    His motor skills were developmentally delayed as a baby and he was slow to walk at almost 2 years of age. It took years for him to even run well.

    Besides getting stronger, strength training has improved his:

    -Stamina
    -Posture
    -Motor skills (obviously through recruitment of maximum fibers by training to momentary failure). He’s making the “mind/muscle connection” very well.
    -Confidence; Feeling more like a man

    He seems to respond better listening to music. And what does it for him? Conan the Barbarian soundtrack! He also likes listening to the All Blacks rugby team doing Hakka’s.
    Drew, I think I recall you mentioning you like metal while lifting? I’ve been recording his progress and he seems to respond better and push harder with music. Is that from a slight adrenaline rush or what? I’m going to continue to watch his records to see if there’s any credence to this theory.

    My 11 year old is a typical fiery redhead who exhibits very good motor skills and fast reflexes. I foresee him doing pull-ups from here to infinity by the time he’s 16. I just started his Big 3 last month. He’s not ready for all-out-effort yet. Good form and work ethic has to come first.

    It’s a natural high when my youngest says things like, “Daddy, I want to have muscles just like you when I’m a man.” Beaming, I respond, “Son… you keep this up, and you’ll be bigger and stronger than me by the time you’re a man.”

    As a dad, I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt, teaching your children how strength train properly, is one of the best gifts you can give… Because it keeps on giving. Strength, tenacity, self confidence and better health are things we all want our children to have. And I can assure you, it starts in the home, at grass roots, if we’re going to change the course of obesity and other lackadaisical habits so prevalent in society. Not government, but in the home, as a family. It spreads from there.

    Drew, I’ve got video of them both working out that I’d be glad to share for the site (critique, etc.).
    If interested, let me know.

    Thanks again!

    • Drew Baye Sep 29, 2015 @ 12:55

      Hey Ben,

      I’m glad to hear you’re training your boys and that they appreciate the benefits, and I absolutely agree about it being one of the best gifts you can give. Our son was not happy about working out at first, but once he started seeing the changes in his body his attitude changed from disinterest to enthusiasm.

      I also agree that it is up to us as parents and not the government or schools to teach our children to eat and exercise properly, and that if we want to be the best teachers we need to do so by example.

      • Ben Tucker Jan 19, 2016 @ 12:43

        Drew,

        Just wanted to give all an update on my 16 year old’s progress. I hope others find this encouraging to train their children and teens.
        In short, if they train hard, they will yield results.

        He’s been hanging around 150# (6’1″) for a little over 2 months from Sept to early November.
        I just weighed him, January 12th at 160#.
        He’s basically gained 10# in less than 70 days and he’s not grown more than a 1/4″ either, so I can’t chalk it up to just height increase. He’s of a long and lean stock but he’s filling out nicely.

        Teenage boys have the most testosterone and GH coursing through their veins. It would be a shame not to take advantage of it.

        He trains twice a week: Big 5, stiff leg dead lift, alternating with a few single joint exercises as well.

        He’s definitely feeling more rock solid and dense. If he keeps this intensity up, I wouldn’t be surprised if he puts on another 10-15# by mid summer 2016.

        I implore other fathers to train their children and teens (especially sons.)
        It’s an investment that keeps giving back.
        And as a father, I feel the need to train my boys to become strong men in mind and body. The confidence it builds in them is stratosphere high.

        My wife and I do our best to raise respectful, responsible young men who will, hopefully, know how to be men in the future.
        We’re trying hard to stem the tide of the femenization that young boys are subjected to, daily.
        Basically, more masculine and less effete.
        Of course, this is just one father’s opinion.

        • Drew Baye Jan 28, 2016 @ 15:30

          Hey Ben,

          Thanks for the update and I hope it encourages other parents reading this to teach their children to train properly.

  • Ben Tucker Jan 29, 2016 @ 22:39

    You’re most welcome, Drew.
    And thank you for hosting a great forum to engage in these kinds of interchanges.