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Having a strong core is essential for daily activities that we often take for granted. Without core strength, it becomes difficult to balance, perform coordinated movements on both sides of the body, sit up straight, or even jump. That being known, it is important to start your children off right with kid-friendly core strengthening exercises. We’re not talking about trying to convince them to do grueling quantities of crunches or anything like that. Instead, we’re offering up a few basic movements that can be fun and offer variations when your child is ready to advance.
Superman
What kid doesn’t want to fly and be a super hero? For this exercise, let your child choose their favorite superhero of the day and have them lie on the floor, stomach down, and lift their arms so that their upper chest comes up. You can make it more fun by having a child reach up for you to hand them pieces of a puzzle or stickers to place on a poster board.
Bridge
Another great kid-friendly core strengthening exercise is bridging. Have your child lie on their back this time, with their knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Have them push through their heels to raise their bottoms off the floor. Be sure they are keeping their head and shoulders on the ground, and have them hold this position for several seconds at a time and repeat.
Plank
For the plank exercise, have a child lay on their stomach with their hands flat on the floor at shoulder level and their toes on the floor. On the count of three, have them push up on their hands to straighten their arms and lift their whole body off the floor. If lifting their entire body is too much, have them drop their knees to the floor for support. Additionally, another variation of the plank exercise can be done on the forearms.
Wheelbarrow
Wheelbarrows are a fun kid-friendly core strengthening exercise that kids often love to do. Once again, have your child lie on their stomach on the floor. While you hold their ankles, have them walk with their hands forward 10 steps and then backward 10 steps. If 10 steps are too difficult to start, try five and let them work their way up. If they don’t like having their ankles held, they can also use a large fitness ball to do a similar exercise. Have them start with their thighs on the ball and let it roll to their ankles as they walk their hands out. Furthermore, you can add a bit more of a challenge by having your child walk forward to pick up a ball and put it in a basket with one hand.
Activities
Some kid-friendly core strengthening workouts can come from good, old-fashioned outdoor play. Here is a list of common outdoor kid activities that will give your child a core workout without them even realizing it.
We do personal training for kids too! From athletes to beginners, we have a ton of programs to get your little one enthusiastic about fitness and help them establish healthy habits for life!
I found this quote and it really resonated with me. “FEAR has two meanings: Forget Everything And Run OR Face Everything And Rise…The choice is yours.” I choose “Face Everything and Rise.”
In today’s busy world one of the things that consumers have come to rely upon and enjoy is home shopping. This is for good reason because many families are working around the clock and need the assistance of home shopping services. Systems for shopping are easy to use online and are well organized to present to you just those foods you have in mind! Let’s take a look at some of those home food delivery services and see whether or not you feel this is the way to go! (more…)
Elite Sports Clubs is now offering full-time music classes at our Brookfield & River Glen locations through Mozart’s Gym: an on-site music school where there are many different teachers of many different instruments. Today we’d like to introduce Kristin Knutson, who teaches voice lessons. (more…)
In today’s age of smartphones, video games, and YouTube, getting kids away from their screens can sometimes be a challenge. At Elite, we encourage parents to start the healthy habit of keeping kids active early, so that they form the habit and grow to love an active lifestyle. So how do you start? Well, kids like to have fun, so we suggest choosing activities for kids that are so much fun they don’t even realize that they’re exercising. We’ve put together a list of our favorite exercise games and activities for kids that will keep them moving, and have them giggling the whole way through. (more…)
Kombucha, pronounced KOM-boo-CHA: this fizzy, vinegary-smelling, tea is all the craze in the craft beverage market these days. This tea has been brewing for centuries, but it has recently become the main squeeze for some people after the claimed health benefits. (more…)
Elite Sports Clubs is now offering full-time music classes at our Brookfield & River Glen locations through Mozart’s Gym: an on-site music school where there are many different teachers of many different instruments. Today we’d like to introduce Bill Zeidler, who teaches clarinet and saxophone. (more…)
Last week we discussed the importance of fundamental movements, and as promised, this week we will discuss seven essential functional movement exercises. Each movement highlights a different component of the body and offers a variety of exercises that focus on the motion. Let’s strip things back to the basics to take a look at these movements. It is important to remember that the movement takes priority over the amount of weight you use, therefore it is important to learn the movement first, and then slowly progress to weighted or barbell variations.
In the days of the Kardashians, it’s not hard to get folks to want to work on their backside. Everyone wants to have a great rear view. But did you know they are actually very important for your functionality as well, particularly in walking? Strong glutes will aid you in having mobile hips, a strong core, generating power, and decreasing the risk of knee and back pain. (more…)
If you’re looking to watch your calorie intake this summer, make sure you’re paying attention to your summer drinks too! In particular, the calories in alcoholic drinks often enjoyed in the hot summer months can have a ton of “hidden empty calories”. Nevertheless, you can still enjoy yourself armed with the facts about summer drinks!
