Exercises for Kids

With the upcoming Cold Storage Kids Run in May, and being the first time the girls are participating in any races, we took the opportunity to allow the girls to learn a bit more on proper running postures and techniques to avoid injury while having fun.

The session was complimentary of Radiance PhysioFit. What the fitness instructor did was to put the children though a series of exercises tailored for adults, but at a much lower intensity. Hoping to access the strengths and weaknesses of the children while doing the exercises.

That is Coach Sonny, who is one of the directors and personal trainers of Radiance PhysioFit. He is also a certified CrossFit Instructor. From his interaction with the kids, I can see he has done this many times, very patient and really know how to encourage them on. Later then I know he has 2 young kids too.

The first exercise was to run within the lines and do it as fast as possible, training the kids to be nimble. From this exercise, I realized that I didn’t have a good running posture, my hands were down on my side instead of holding it up beside my chest.

The exercises moved on to greater difficulty when the girls have to jump over hurdles. Training their leg muscles and also ability to jump and land on both legs. One of the boys in the class was not able to do so, in fact his dad together with him were more accustomed to jump on one leg like galloping. That is part of motor skills training.

 

In running a race, there are bound to be a lot of people running at the same time, especially right at the beginning of the race. So sometimes to step aside and continue to run without stopping to allow the slower runners to pick up, the ability to run sideway is very important. The key is to run sideway without crossing your legs and trip yourself. This exercise was quite challenging to many of the kids, especially the impatient ones. There are usually the ones who will trip and fall more than others.

From their expressions, I know they have enjoyed themselves and in the midst learned something important.

My dear wife caught us resting after almost an hour’s worth of exercise.

Some of the boys were still very energetic.

Finally it was time to cool down with some stretching exercises.

Jayne brought the stretching to a whole new level. NO need to do split lah!

Glad to have spent a weekend afternoon exercising with my kids, hope to cultivate this habit for the family.