As interest in the BIPRI Kid’s Fitness Training platform continues to grow, we have been fielding more and more specific questions about workouts. This is an example of an intermediate workout that I had two of our BIPRI Training Families do last week.
Warm-Up / Strength Building
Imaginary Jump Rope – 100 reps. I love the jump rope for speed, coordination and rhythm development, but appropriately sized kids’ ropes are hard to find. Also, learning to jump rope takes time, so I like using the imaginary jump rope as a warmup. I have my athletes mimic the wrist action of an actual jump rope along with assorted foot patterns during drills. Not actually having a rope allows for the athlete to concentrate on the jumps or landing pattern without a break in cadence.
Bear Crawl – 25 ft (forward then backward) x 2 sets. Backward means feet first. I stress keeping the back flat and keeping weight on the hands in order to maximize upper body involvement.
Walking Lunge – 25 ft (forward then backward) x 2 sets. A backward walking lunge is a more difficult movement than the traditional forward. Cadence looks like this: Long backwards step -> stepping knee goes to ground -> large push from front leg with leg moving to second back step -> stepping knee to ground. This movement requires more balance, agility and hip strength than the traditional lunge.
Two-Count Push Up – 2 sets of 5 reps. This is a slightly more advanced version of the traditional push up, and one that I never use until an athlete can complete at least 10 strict push-ups. In the 2-count version, the athlete begins the movement at the top of the push up position and will hold the position for 2 seconds, then will descend for 2 seconds until the chest barely touches the ground. The athlete will maintain the low position for 2 seconds, then will take 2 seconds to raise back to the starting position.
One-Legged Bodyweight RDL – 2 sets x 5 reps. Athlete will balance on one leg and slowly bend to ground, by only hinging at waist. Trail leg will extend behind hinging body, as athlete touches ground and returns to starting position. This movement can be done using a PVC pipe, or double or single dumbbells to add difficulty.
Technical Running
Athletic position side shuffle – L/R 20 yards. Controlled side shuffle while maintaining a slight bend in the knee. This activity is performed slower and with more lower body tension then a traditional relaxed shuffle.
Karaoke Shuffle – L/R 20 yards. Traditional movement shuffle where trail leg alternates traveling in front of them behind the lead leg in the movement.
High Knee Run – 2 sets x 20 yards. Overexaggerated running pattern where knee travels vertically above belt line of runner on each stride. This works the hip flexor and demonstrates appropriate foot landing placement for sprinting.
High Skips – 2 sets 20 yards. Max vertical skip where opposite arm and knee lift simultaneously.
Flyer – 4 sets x 40 yards. Athlete slowly builds sprint speed through 25 yards and maintains top speed through finish. Controlled sprinting drill in which athlete ramps to max speed over prescribed distance.
Sprint – 4 sets x 30 yards. Athlete explodes from start on whistle or command and reaches max velocity as soon as possible, maintaining max speed through finish.
Setting Up a Kid’s Fitness Training Workout Routine
This workout took the parents about two minutes to set up and the athletes completed this training, under parental supervision and encouragement, in about 25 minutes in their garage and in the street in front of their house. I was able to view some short videos of the exercises and the sprints after the workout and was able to offer feedback on form, technique, and exercise difficulty back through the BIPRI app.
I advise parents to pick distances for warm up and sprints that fit into their training environment. We use cues like, “Start at Lisa Ann’s mailbox and sprint past the stop sign” to indicate distance. It is important to keep sprint and warm up distances consistent in order to track volume and speed changes. You will want to keep accurate records on the athletes to show progressions. Kids (and parents) love seeing a 2 second improvement in a sprint distance over a three-month period.
I also advise parents to use whatever tools they have available to formalize the training sessions. Kids seem to train with higher intensity when you use cones to mark out start and finish lines and will undoubtedly sprint more explosively in drills if a parent uses a whistle instead of simply saying go.
I encourage my families to record workout times, repetitions and distances for comparison and motivation. Noting that the athlete has doubled the amount of pull ups they can do over the course of a season is highly motivating. Like all in-person trainers, I’m able to track progress on all program participants, and I enjoy being able to recognize the athletes when they show progress.
I am currently seeking another 10 families with children between the ages of 6-12, who play youth sports, for a special BIPRI Kid’s Training Program running through January of 2020. If you are a parent that wants to take a more active role in the health and sport-specific training of your child, please request a consult conversation here and I’ll respond directly.