Dumbbell Exercises for Kids

Safety First

• It is important to take proper safety precautions before establishing a strength-training regimen for your child. The first thing to do is get doctor approval beforehand. Next, choose proper equipment that is age- and ability level-appropriate for your child. Children who exercise with resistance props such as dumbbells should use light weights and a high amount of repetitions, as opposed to heavy weights with fewer reps. If your child cannot lift the weight at least eight times, it is too heavy. Have your child practice dumbbell exercises without the weights first, to ensure proper form and technique. Supervise the exercises at all times to ensure safety and prevent injury.

Appropriate Exercises

• Before exercising with dumbbells, have your child do an aerobics-based warm-up for five to 10 minutes. Begin with simple exercises that do not require elaborate stances or difficult forms to maintain. Bicep curls are one appropriate choice that isn't too difficult for children to do. Triceps extensions, squats and lunges are also appropriate, effective dumbbell exercises for children. Have your child do calisthenics and stretching exercises before and after weight exercises to avoid injury.

Challenges

• In addition to exercises, simple challenges can also help children practice form, strengthen muscles and build endurance. Instruct your child to hold a dumbbell in each hand, extend his arms outward and raise them to shoulder level, and time how long he can keep the posture. Record the times during each session so he can see how his endurance and strength have improved over time. Another idea is to incorporate light dumbbells into an exercise relay race and have kids perform an exercise on each leg of the race or lunge to the next checkpoint before passing the dumbbell baton onto the next player.

Games

• Exercising can be tedious and monotonous, especially for young children. Make it fun by incorporating game play into exercise routines. Create an exercise chart, numbering different exercises from one to six. Have children roll a die to determine which exercise they will do. Another idea is to use colored dumbbells and assign a different exercise to each color. Use a colored game board spinner or put colored construction paper squares in a hat for children to draw to determine what exercise will be next. Assign point values to different exercises to establish a winner at the end.