Monday, 27 June 2011
Start with simple strength exercises using only your child's body weight. Push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, dips, squats and lunges are all effective weight training exercises that require no equipment. Kids Health recommends exercises without resistance to help your child learn balance, control and body awareness. Do one set of eight to 10 repetitions for six to eight different exercises. Include exercises from the major muscle groups of both the upper and lower body. Add additional sets as strength improves. For exercises such as wall sits and planks, start by holding the exercise for 10 seconds. Make a game out of the exercise by challenging your child to hold the exercise for a little longer each time you exercise. Work up to one minute.
Kids Weight Loss - 10 Lifestyle Changes to Make
1. Spend an hour a day moving.
Help kids fit in at least 60 minutes of fitness every day (for weight loss and maintenance). That might mean 20 minutes walking to and from school, 15 minutes of physical play at recess, and 25 minutes of basketball, either informally or at a practice with teammates. Make sure your child has the gear he needs to have fun and be safe (baseball mitt, bike helmet, etc.), but remember there are lots of ways to be active that require little or no equipment.
3. Be a role model to inspire kids' weight loss.
Set a good example for your child by choosing a healthy diet and getting plenty of exercise yourself. You don't have to become a marathon runner overnight, but adding a walk after dinner or a yoga class in the morning helps a lot. Challenge yourself to use your car less and your bike (or your feet) more.
4. Cut out beverages sweetened with sugar.
Swap soda for water, low-fat milk, or juice (but limit juice to 4 to 8 ounces a day, since it contains natural sugars and lots of calories).5. Limit screen time.
6. Eat breakfast every day.
This helps your child avoid snacking on empty calories because she's "sooooo hungry." Provide a morning meal that includes whole grains, fruit, and protein. Skipping meals doesn't promote weight loss, for kids or adults!
7. Take TVs out of bedrooms.
Kids who have a television in the room where they sleep watch more (and play less). Keep your set in a communal area so you can monitor usage. Better yet, put it inside a cabinet with a door: out of sight, out of mind!8. Eat at home.
Yes, you can make healthy choices at restaurants and even your favorite fast-food spot, but it's a lot easier to control your family's fat and calorie intake if you prepare food at home.
9. Rethink "exercise" to make kids' weight loss more fun.
Physical activity doesn't have to mean an organized team sport or class. Housework, yardwork, and playing at the playground all get kids up and moving. So does asking them to teach you a new dance move or race you to the corner as you walk around the block.10. Be your child's cheerleader.
Girls, especially, need lots of encouragement to be active and move their bodies. Praise kids for making small changes and for weight loss efforts, not results.
Exercise for Children
Recess, waiting in line at stores, playing tag and waiting for the bus are just some of the places kids squeeze in exercise throughout their day without even realizing it. A 10-minute game of tag at the bus stop can give children a mini workout before having to concentrate at school all day. 
Now that more and more children are showing signs of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes, it is even more apparent that physical fitness and good health need to be a regular component of every child’s life.
Having strong muscles and bones doesn’t just come from one type of exercise. It takes a variety of activities that improve endurance, strength and flexibility to give children the opportunity to be their best physical self.
Endurance is improved by doing an aerobic activity that raises the heart rate for longer periods of time. When kids are exercising aerobically, they breathe harder and strengthen the heart and lungs. Running, playing tag, hiking, biking, swimming and playing basketball or football are just a few examples of activities that improve endurance.
Activities that improve strength make muscles and bones stronger. Sit-ups, push-ups, crossing monkey bars, climbing trees or even building snowmen all strengthen muscles. As you can see, weights don’t always have to be used to improve strength. Helping parents carry in groceries, household chores and yard work also help kids become stronger.
Flexibility is the third part of a well-rounded fitness program. Yoga, stretching, balance exercises and gymnastics all make the muscles and joints more flexible. Children do flexibility exercises all day without even knowing it. The funny shapes they take while waiting in lines or laying on the floor all stretch muscles.
The goal is to let yourself creatively exercise, making sure you include these three components somewhere in your routine and playtime each day. Use small increments of downtime to stretch or do strength exercises.
Watch yourself on a playground, and you’ll see that exercise doesn’t have to be boring or typical. Fitness time can come in all shapes and forms, and the main point is to make sure you get enough of it each day and have fun doing whatever it is they’re doing. The benefits for your physical and emotional health will be endless.
Ideas For Kids Aerobics Exercise
Teaching Aerobics Classes to Kids
Teaching aerobics to kids presents a unique set of challenges. While the class structure is generally the same as an adult class - Warm-up, Aerobic session, Cool Down, Toning, and Stretch - you have to remember that kids tire a little easier and get bored a little quicker. The key is to keep the class fun for them, as well as educational.
Use current, recognizable dance music to get them interested. Throw in some dance moves, but nothing too complicated or daring. Use the add-on method to build an aerobic routine. During each class, try to throw in a move they learned in a previous class so the routine feels familiar and they feel comfortable. When adding on new moves, walk them through it slowly at first, then pick up the pace. Once you are done with the aerobic session and have cooled down, move on to toning. Before toning, give the kids five minutes to get a drink and prepare for the next step.
In toning, perform many of the same exercises adults use. Arm circles, leg lifts, and ab curls, for example. The only difference is intensity of each move and the number of repetitions per move. Since children don't really need to work on developing "big" muscles, try 8 reps and 2 sets of each exercise. Also, don't forget to tell them what each exercise is for and give specific examples of why they should do those exercises. Many children play sports, so be sure tell them how the exercises will enhance their sport performance. You'd be surprised how excited that gets them!
When you move on to the floorwork (abs and legs), check that they have the right form so that no injuries will occur. And again, let them know the purpose of each exercise and the benefits.
When class is over, ask for questions. They usually have a lot of them. Some about nutrition or others about daily exercise. Since children are often in different development stages at different ages, be very careful not to make any suggestions about "diets" or specific exercises. What may work for one child will not work for another - but they'll all be listening. Give them general advice about nutrition and exercise, then speak to them personally about any specific problems.
Teaching aerobics to kids presents a unique set of challenges. While the class structure is generally the same as an adult class - Warm-up, Aerobic session, Cool Down, Toning, and Stretch - you have to remember that kids tire a little easier and get bored a little quicker. The key is to keep the class fun for them, as well as educational.
Use current, recognizable dance music to get them interested. Throw in some dance moves, but nothing too complicated or daring. Use the add-on method to build an aerobic routine. During each class, try to throw in a move they learned in a previous class so the routine feels familiar and they feel comfortable. When adding on new moves, walk them through it slowly at first, then pick up the pace. Once you are done with the aerobic session and have cooled down, move on to toning. Before toning, give the kids five minutes to get a drink and prepare for the next step.
In toning, perform many of the same exercises adults use. Arm circles, leg lifts, and ab curls, for example. The only difference is intensity of each move and the number of repetitions per move. Since children don't really need to work on developing "big" muscles, try 8 reps and 2 sets of each exercise. Also, don't forget to tell them what each exercise is for and give specific examples of why they should do those exercises. Many children play sports, so be sure tell them how the exercises will enhance their sport performance. You'd be surprised how excited that gets them!
When you move on to the floorwork (abs and legs), check that they have the right form so that no injuries will occur. And again, let them know the purpose of each exercise and the benefits.
When class is over, ask for questions. They usually have a lot of them. Some about nutrition or others about daily exercise. Since children are often in different development stages at different ages, be very careful not to make any suggestions about "diets" or specific exercises. What may work for one child will not work for another - but they'll all be listening. Give them general advice about nutrition and exercise, then speak to them personally about any specific problems.
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