Personal training for children is very important for their overall development to avoid any health issues. Personal trainers can introduce them to exercise that can help strengthen their muscles, improve heart functions, enhance motor skills, and prevent childhood obesity. While it has a positive impact on their physical health, it also does wonders for their mental well-being.
Through training, children learn about what a healthy lifestyle looks like, which allows them to handle stress and negative emotions. Training can help Improve their self-esteem, concentration level, and sleep pattern. Teaching them a valuable lesson about teamwork also becomes a huge step toward their future growth.
After knowing how children benefit from personal training, as a trainer you must be curious about what are the suitable exercises for them.
keep reading!
Recommended Exercise for Kids
Meditation
Kids must be made aware of meditation, i.e., a practice where one has to sit or lie in a comfortable position while focusing on the present moment. This Exercise for children can help calm their minds and improve their sleep.
The following are some ways through which personal trainers can help kids:
Start with short sessions: You can personally train kids by beginning with short sessions. With time and consistency, you can increase the duration of these sessions.
Child-friendly techniques: Visualization and storytelling are some of the child-friendly techniques that can help connect them with their imagination.
Use of familiar language: Through proper usage of language that they know, you can guide them to imagine that they are in their favourite place. Thus increasing their focus.
Deal with patience: As a personal trainer, you must keep on encouraging them to include this practice in their daily life that can help them relax. You must remain patient while answering their questions, remembering that they might take longer time than adults to grasp this practice.
Breathing Exercises for Children
Kids need exercise that can help them cope with different situations, especially when it comes to managing strong emotions. Breathing exercise is one such technique that improves your overall well-being, as controlled breathing can ease muscles.
The following are some breathing techniques that are specifically designed for kids:
Bubble breathing: You can guide kids to blow bubbles while focusing on their breath. This will automatically calm their mind.
Use the Flowers: You can give flowers to children and tell them to smell the flowers. While doing that, you can guide them to inhale, briefly hold their breathe and exhale slowly. This technique encourages deep breathing.
Use a Stuff toy: Using any stuffed animal or toy can make their exercise more delightful. While placing the toy on their stomach, you can ask them to breathe deeply in order to watch it rise and fall. This will help them to visualise their breath and might spark some curiosity within them to try it even when the training is over.
Physical exercises
As a personal trainer, you must engage children in physical activities or exercises that can help them in their development and growth.
Some of these are mentioned below:
Skipping: Jumping or skipping can help in bone development and can be very enjoyable for the kids.
Strength exercises: You can encourage children to do push-ups, planks, sit-ups or handstands by creating a competitive atmosphere. This will motivate them to participate.
Aerobics: Exercises including dancing, running, and jumping jacks can have a positive impact on their cardiovascular health.
Improve Balance: Through activities including balancing on one leg or an obstacle course can improve their coordination and overall balance.
Dedicated Personal Training Equipment for Kids
Agility Ladders
Improving coordination and footwork can be made easy and amusing by bringing in agility ladder equipment. Though it is mainly used for cardio and muscle exercises, these can also be used during warm-up or footwork drills. After all, these can be easily adjustable to any height.
Stability Balls
The core strength takes a lot of work, which is why stability balls are a much-needed piece of equipment. These are available in many sizes and specifically designed to increase the stability within kids. These are also used to improve posture, reduce stress and increase blood circulation through exercises like rolling the ball under your feet or bouncing it on the wall.
Resistance Bands
Endurance and flexibility in children get better with time, especially with training equipment like resistance bands. These bands resist movement in exercises like leg curls, squats and many more, which helps them build their strength. They are child-friendly and come in small sizes as well.
Mini Hurdles
You can set up a proper obstacle through cones and mini hurdles to make the exercise more entertaining for kids. Mini hurdles are suitable for children as they help them improve leg strength and agility.
Jump Ropes
You need efficient equipment that can improve your motor skills in a pleasant way. For this, jump ropes are a terrific equipment as they come in different weights and lengths. These help in enhancing kids’ balancing skills.
Program Design for Kids’ Workouts
For any personal trainer like you, structuring a program design according to the needs of kids’ parents is very crucial. Some parents may want you to work on their child’s strength and mass gain, while some might want you to focus on the athlete program specifically. Therefore, you must have a clear idea regarding the final goal that you want to achieve while knowing children’s capabilities.
The following are some of the Program Design for Kids’ Workouts:
Weight Management Program For kids’ Workout
Personal trainers like you can construct a program that deals with both weight gain and loss as per the requirements of the parents.
- Workout Regarding Weight Gain: Many kids require a workout program which boosts their muscle mass while leading them to a healthier life. The exercises that this program includes are mainly weight lifting, bodyweight workouts, cardio, strength training workouts and taking a nutrient diet.
- Workout Regarding Weight Loss: The weight loss program may seem challenging, but it can be made fun by involving activities like swimming, dancing, or other sports. The diet plan is also included in this program, which is why nutritional guidance is always helpful.
Athletes Program For kids’ Workout
Most kids dream of becoming athletes that’s why this program allows them personal training for sports. Under it, personal trainers like you help them in making their flexibility, endurance, and strength better. You can create a program while keeping in mind their specific interest in order to make the whole experience enjoyable.
- Take care of Nutrition: You must ensure that the kids know the true value of having a nutritional diet. thus reflecting on their performances.
- Encourage Strength exercises: You can add some strength exercises which might help in increasing their speed and stamina.
Precautionary Measures With Exercise for Children
Personal training, though, is very crucial for children’s future, yet some precautionary measures must be taken to ensure their safety. You must be cautious about the following reasons:
- Ensure that the workout that you have chosen is suitable for kids of all ages and capabilities.
- You must supervise them when they are working out for the first time or if they have some potential risk of injury. You can also allow their parents or guardians to be present there.
- Ensure to inform the children not to push their limits, especially if they feel tired, dizzy or discomfort of any kind. They must stop doing the exercises then and there.
- Always encourage children to avoid dehydration by creating 1-2 mins breaks between different exercises.
Conclusion
Personal training for children is a great way of motivating them and shaping their mindset for a better and healthier future. For this, as a trainer, you must know how to deal with kids and have the patience to supervise them.
This is your chance to contribute something valuable to their journey!
