When working on strength training with your kids there are a few important things to remember. First, only do strength training every other day—but at least twice a week. The muscles need to be worked more than once a week in order to challenge them enough to grow. But give your child a day in between sessions for the muscles to recover from the workout. Second, do not use weights. Your child is too young to be lifting heavy metal. Their body weight should suffice. If needed you can add light books or cans of food as weights. Third, never push your child to lift more than they feel comfortable with. Lifting more than their body is prepared for can cause damage.
When starting out I suggest having them try AT LEAST one exercise for each section of the body, i.e. arms, legs, stomach. If they are still feeling up to it then they can go through and do a second set. Watch them progress and add more reps and sets as needed. Don’t worry if they don’t have perfect form from day one. My three year-old tries hard to do push-ups. He doesn’t lift his lower body up at all, but his upper body is still getting a work out and he is learning how to do them correctly. Remember to have patience with them as they are learning these new exercises! And if they can’t finish a set it is okay. Also, remember to make adaptations for your younger children. They won’t be able to do things on the same scale as the older kids.
Below are the normal exercises that you can have them do on a regular basis. To switch things up, once in a while I will have my children go rock climbing, tree climbing, or play on the jungle gym and monkey bars in order for them to strengthen their muscles. These descriptions of the exercises are taken mainly from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s book “Arnold’s Fitness for Kids Ages 6-10”. Many of the exercises work more that just one muscle group. They are simply listed as he has them in his book. The videos are of my children doing some of the exercises. Again, their form isn't perfect, but they just show you that the kids can do the different exercises.
Strength Building Exercises
Stomach Muscles
Sit-ups: Sitting on the floor with your knees bent, place your feet under some stationary object. Cross your arms over your chest, with your hands on your shoulders. Now lower your upper body until your lower back touches the floor and sit back up for one repetition. Do these slowly and fluidly (don’t jerk your upper body upward). Do as many repetitions as you can and add more as the exercise becomes easier for you. Work up to 40 to 50 reps. Do 1 to 3 sets.
Crunches: Lie on your back with your legs bent steeply at the knees and elevated, and your hands on your hips. Rolling your shoulders and head off the floor, touch your chin to your chest and “crunch”, or tense, your stomach muscles as you do it. Hold the crunch for 3 seconds, then relax and return to the starting position. Work up to 25 to 30 reps. Do 1 to 3 sets.
Knee-ups: Lie flat on the floor with your hands underneath your buttocks. Holding your legs together, bend your knees and raise them six inches off of the floor. Bring your knees toward your chest as far as you can, then straighten your legs slowly for one repetition. Work up to 25 to 30 reps. Do 1 to 3 sets.
Seated twists: Sit on a bench, stool, or chair and hold your arms out by your sides at shoulder level. Twist at the waist to your right, bringing your arms and upper body around as far as they will comfortably go. Then come back to your starting position and twist in the other direction. Alternate reps on each side, working up to 25 reps. Do 1 to 3 sets.
Leg Muscles
Step-ups: Stand in front of a stairway step (or a sturdy box, stool, or bench of about the same height). Step up onto the object with your right foot. Now step down and step back up with your left foot. Step down again for one repetition with each foot. Work up to 30 to 40 step-ups with each foot. Do 1 to 3 sets.
Lunges: Stand with your feet together and your arms held straight out to your sides for balance. Now step forward 2 or 3 feet with your right leg and sink onto it until you touch the knee of your left leg to the floor (if this is hard, don’t sink so far). Come back up to your original position for one repetition with that leg. Now do the same thing with your left leg. Alternate legs up to 25 reps per leg. Do 1 to 3 sets.
Wall squats: Stand with your back flat against the wall, your feet shoulder-width apart. Slide your back down the wall and walk your feet out until your thighs forma ninety-degree angle with the wall and your calves a ninety-degree angle with the floor. Your feet should still be shoulder-width apart. Fold your arms over your chest. Now squat there for as long as you can. Try to add 5 seconds to how long you hold the squat each time you do the exercise. Do 1 set.
Calf raises: Use a thick book or a 4 x 4 inch board. Stand on it, with your feet a few inches apart, so that only the balls of your feet and the first couple of inches of your instep are on the object and your heels are dropped down as far as they will go. It helps to have something in front of you to hold on to. Now stand up slowly on the balls of your feet until your calf muscles contract fully. Hold that position for a count of 5—feeling the contraction in your calves—then let your heels drop back down slowly to their original position for one repetition. Work up to 25 reps, held for 5 seconds each. Do 1 to 3 sets.
Chest Muscles
Push-ups: Lie flat on your stomach, your feet on their toes, hands directly under your shoulder and level with them. Lift your waist from the floor so only your chest is touching. Now, keeping your head down and your back straight, push up until your arms are fully extended. Go back down to your original position for one repetition. Workup to 25 reps and do 1 to 3 sets. Each time you do push-ups try to do one more.
Modified push-ups: Do these if you can’t do the normal push-ups above. Start with your chin touching the floor, your weight resting on your hands and knees, your hands approximately shoulder-width apart. Push up and back, keeping your back and waist in a straight line, to a crawling position. Work up on repetitions until you are strong enough to do normal push-ups. Do 1 to 3 sets.
Push-offs: Find a table, bench, dresser, wall—something about half your height. Stand in front of it, with your feet 3 feet away and a foot apart. Place your hands on the object, spacing them a foot to two feet wider than your shoulders. Holding your back straight, lower (don’t drop) your upper body so that your chest touches the object, then push slowly back up for one repetition. The farther your feet are away from the object, the harder the exercise is. Work up to 25 to 30 reps. Do 1 to 3 sets.
Alternate flies and pull-overs: Lie on your back on the floor, knees bent, holding 2 books of equal weight (or soup cans, or other) directly over your chest (one in each hand). With your arms slightly bent, lower the books out to the sides until they go below your chest, then bring your arms back up in a slight bow, as though you were hugging something, until the books touch. Then, with the books together, lower your arms back behind your head as far as they will go and, using your chest and upper stomach muscles, pull them back up to a vertical position for one full repetition of the exercise. Try to do the four movements smoothly and at the maximum stretch. As you get stronger you can use heavier books. Work up to 20 reps, do 1 to 3 sets.
Back Muscles
Lower-back extensions: Lie on your stomach and chest with your head held off the floor and your arms lifted behind you and to the sides. Lift your legs and upper body toward each other, leaving only your stomach and hips on the floor, as far as they will comfortably go, and hold that position for a count of 3. Then go back to your original position for one repetition. Work up to 20 reps. Do 1 set.
Modified pull-ups: You will need a couple of stable objects about 2 feet high—a couple of chairs or tables—and a broomstick or some other kind of sturdy pole. Arrange the pole so that’s end are attached to each object without the chance of slipping, and leave enough room in between the object for you to fit. When the pole is firmly in place, lie on your back and take a wide grip on the pole. Keeping your heels on the floor, pull your chest as close as you can to the pole, then let yourself down slowly for one repetition. Keep your back straight as you do these and let your back muscles do the pulling. Work up to 10 reps. Do 1 to 3 sets.
Shoulder Muscles
Shoulder push-offs: Find a table, bench, or chair that is around hip height. Standing with feet a couple of feet apart and about three feet from the object, place your hands on the object, spacing them a little wider than your shoulders. Now bend at the waist so that your back goes flat and on the same level as your outstretched arms. Let your head come in to touch the object, then push off from it, keeping your back level, back to your original position. Work up to 20 reps. Do 1 to 3 sets.
Arm Muscles
Pull-ups: Do pull-ups with your hands in a forward grip and a little farther apart than shoulder width. Pull smoothly up until your chin reaches the bar, the let yourself down until your arms are straight for one repetition. Work up to 10 reps and do 1 to 2 sets.
Dips: Stand with your back to a chair that is placed against a wall (for little kids you could just use the bottom stair). Place your hands on the chair. Lower your buttocks down toward the floor until your chest is on a plane with your hands, then push yourself smoothly back up to a starting position, using the muscles in the backs of your arms. Work up to 12 reps. Do 1 to 3 sets.
Arm curls: Stand or sit with your back straight and take a light book or a can of soup in each arm. Keep your arms down by your sides and your knuckles towards your body. Bring up the object to chest level by bending your elbows and then lowering them in a controlled manner back to the starting position for one repetition. Work up to 15 reps. Do 1 to 3 sets.
