Conditioning Exercises for Kids

Although the phrase ̶0;It̵7;s never too early to start,̶1; might not apply to exercise for toddlers, exercise is an important part of life for children as young as early childhood. Around the age at which schools are allowing children to engage in school sports, conditioning exercise becomes a viable activity for children. Appropriate conditioning exercises range from weight training, which helps build muscle, aerobic exercise, which helps increase endurance and lung capacity and stretching, which helps improve flexibility. Young children are still growing and therefore more prone to have muscle, tendon or endurance weaknesses. These weaknesses can lead to injuries during active behavior, so consider helping your child devise a conditioning exercise regimen that can help him protect himself against injury.

  1. The Sticking Point Is the Point

    • Conditioning exercises for kids have many benefits but one clear goal: to help your child break his athletic sticking points. Sticking points are those aspects of an athletic activity in which your child seems to never improve, such as the inability to exceed 15 minutes for the mile run or a weak bat swing. Because athletic weaknesses vary across age, skill level and even similar individuals, no two conditioning workouts will be the same. However, because conditioning exercises for kids are meant to strengthen a child̵7;s athletic weaknesses and help him prevent against injury, a proper conditioning exercise routine should include a variety of exercises. Exercises can focus on all of the aspects of your child̵7;s specific goals.

    Heavy Lifting Needn̵7;t be Heavy Going

    • One of the most important conditioning exercises for athletic kids is strength training. In most cases, a child who̵7;s ready to play sports is also ready to work out in the weight room. As USA Gymnastics points out, strength training via free weights, resistance bands and weight machines can help a child build muscle, strengthen tendons and enhance ligaments. This can help boost performance and strengthen the body against injury. Strength training exercises for children require careful thought and training. Children unfamiliar with weightlifting should seek the guidance of a trainer to learn proper form, reducing the risk of injury. Younger children and novices should begin with safer exercises, such as using machines in place of free weights, and only slowly increase weight after mastering proper form.

    Flexing Your Flex Muscles

    • Flexing is one of the most underrated conditioning exercises for kids, perhaps because children seem so flexible in the first place. However, a routine flexing condition workout can help children gain flexibility, which is useful in sports ranging from gymnastics to basketball. Most importantly for children, stretching can reduce the risk of injury during a child̵7;s active daily life. Children should engage in stretching exercises that focus on moving the targeted part of body through its full range of motion. What parts of the body to focus on is a question you and your child should discuss together, as the activities of children vary. For example, if your daughter is an up-and-coming ballerina, she should routinely stretch her Achilles tendon by flexing her foot as far forward and as far backward as it will go -- through its full range of motion. According to USA Gymnastics, children should hold stretches at their points of tension -- but not pain -- for about 30 seconds each.

    Enduring Training for Endurance

    • Endurance training, or aerobic conditioning, completes the triad of main conditioning exercises. In endurance training, a child̵7;s goal is to increase the length of time she can remain physically active before becoming tired. Endurance is important in many of the activities children love, from running around with their friends to swimming on the school team. Endurance is also important for general health, as it improves lung capacity and benefits the cardiovascular system. Endurance training exercises most suitable for children are low-intensity exercises that last for over 30 minutes. A child who wants to improve his endurance should gradually add time onto his aerobic conditioning exercises, such as by adding one minute per day to his morning run.

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