15+ Easy Exercises for Kids that Will Lift Physical Strength!

As a mother, I would say that it is essential for our kids to engage in some form of physical exercise every day, which can help improve their lives for the better. 

Exercises ⛹🏽‍♀️ need not be intense and complicated for kids to do, which makes the whole process overwhelming for them. You can choose exercises that get your kids excited and eager to try.

I recommend you introduce your kids to easy exercises that are fun and effective for them to try. So, if you are on the search for exercise routines that are easy and effective, you are at the right place! 💯

Easy Exercises for Your Kids

I would say that exercise and physical activity should be included in the daily routine of our kids from a young age to keep them fit and healthy.

You can get your kids to spend half an hour to an hour inside the house, garden, playground, park, or neighborhood to engage in physical activities 🤽🏽‍♀️ and easy exercises.

In this blog post, I have included a list of easy exercises that your kids can do to improve their overall health and well-being 😁. 

Go on a Walk 

Let me start with one of the most common exercises that your kids can do, which is walking 🚶🏽‍♀️. 

You can include a few minutes of walking in the everyday routine of your kids. The simple act of walking can prove beneficial for your kids as it helps with their physical and mental health. 

My son loves going for a walk every morning in the garden or sometimes in the park nearby.

Go on a Run

Running 🏃🏽‍♀️ is also one of the simplest forms of exercise and is perfect for your kids to stay active.

You can include a few minutes of running in the everyday routine of your kids, and you will notice how much it helps their minds and bodies.

I recommend you make your kids run indoors, outdoors, down the hallway, or even around a table. 

You can either make them run as an exercise by themselves or include it in games and relays to make it more fun.

Practice Yoga Postures

I would consider yoga 🧘🏽‍♀️ as one of the most beneficial exercises for the physical and mental well-being of our kids. 

You can make your kids practice some yoga postures daily for about 15-30 minutes or an hour as a part of their routine.

Yoga involves physical movements that are combined with breathing practices and moments of meditation that ultimately benefit the bodies and minds of kids. 

It helps promote mindfulness, improve flexibility, and reduce stress and anxiety. 

“A growing body of research has already shown that yoga can improve focus, memory, self-esteem, academic performance, and classroom behavior, and can even reduce anxiety and stress in children.”

– Marlynn Wei, a certified yoga teacher and board-certified psychiatrist.

Pro Tip:

You can make your kids watch and follow along with the yoga tutorials and sessions on YouTube.

Do Simple Stretches 

Simple stretches 🙆🏽‍♀️ are a part of warm-up exercises that can prove to be an effective exercise on its own to stretch the muscles in the body.

Steps to do:

• You can make your kids stand in one place or sit on a yoga mat and stretch their arms and legs.
• They can stretch their arms and legs in various ways to feel the stretch of the muscles in their arms, legs, backs, and sides of their bodies. 

I make sure that my son does a few stretching exercises every day as a part of his routine, sometimes as a warm-up and sometimes as a stand-alone exercise routine.

Mimic Animal Walks

Animal walks 🦒🐅 are one of my son’s favorite activities that have the benefits of a good exercise routine and are also fun to try.

You can get your kids to copy the walks of various animals. These animal walks involve a lot of physical movements, like running, crawling, jumping, hopping, and so on, which makes for good exercise.  

Some animal walk ideas I would like to recommend for your kids are –

• Walk like a bear / polar bear
• Hop like a bunny
• Jump like a kangaroo
• Waddle like a duck
• Jump like a frog
• Waddle like a penguin
• Scuttle like a crab 
• Crawl like an inchworm, to name a few.

Do let me know in the comments which animal walk your kids loved the most! 🤩

Go Cycling 

You can get your kids a cycle and let them cycle down the street or around the block as a fun and engaging activity.

Cycling 🚲 is also a great low-impact aerobic exercise that kids can do regularly.

Cycling can help your kids improve their fitness levels, boost mental health, and develop their balance, posture, and coordination. 

My son loves cycling along the street, and you can get your kids to cycle, too, as an exercise that is easy on their bodies.

Do Jumps

You can make your kids jump in one spot for a few seconds and do multiple sets of this exercise with breaks in between.

They can also try jumping from one spot to another in various directions – forward, backward, and sideways.

Jumping is an exercise that can help kids improve their endurance and build their muscle strength. 

Do Jumping Jacks

Jumping jacks are a version of jumping that resembles the movements of a starfish. 

This exercise is also on the list of my son’s favorite exercises!

Steps to do:

• Make your kids stand with arms at their sides and feet together. 
• Then, get them to jump in the air by spreading their arms and legs wide apart and instruct them to clap their hands above their heads.
• They can jump and return to the original standing position and repeat the same in the form of sets. 

Jumping jacks are an effective full-body exercise – strengthening the core, leg, and arm muscles and helping your kids improve their endurance, footwork, and body control. 

Recreate the Superman Pose 

Your kids will love pretending to be a superhero 🦸🏽‍♀️ trying to save the world with this simple and beneficial Superman pose. 

Steps to do:

• Make your kids lie on their stomachs on a yoga mat with their arms and legs resting on the ground.
• Then, get your kids to rest their bodies on their torso and lift their arms, upper chest, and legs a few inches above the ground. 
• Kids can stay in this position for a few seconds to hold the Superman pose.

I would say this is a powerful pose that can help strengthen the muscles of the back and abdominal muscles of your kids.

Pro Tip:

As your kids become comfortable with the Superman pose, you can slowly increase the time they hold the pose to build their endurance over time.

Have a Dance Session

If you have kids who love to dance as much as my son does, you can encourage them to dance 💃🏽 🕺🏾 their way through as an exercise that can make them happy and excited. 

You can play lively music or your kids’ favorite songs and let your kids move to the beats and dance away. They can try different dance forms like hip-hop, salsa, modern dance, tap, Zumba, and so on for variety or even come up with their own moves. 

Dancing can help kids stay active as it involves a lot of physical movements that can improve their bone and muscle strength and is also good for the heart. 

The effect of this exercise depends on the type of dance your kids do, but it helps them keep moving and get in some physical activity.

Do a Military Crawl

You can get your kids to try a military crawl as an exercise, which can be challenging but also rewarding at the same time. 

Steps to do:

• Make your kids lie down on the floor on their stomachs. 
• Then, get them to crawl forward using their elbows and forearms to push themselves ahead. 
• Kids can also use their knees to help them get ahead and make the exercise a bit easier for them to do.

Military crawls are a great exercise to develop core strength, arm strength, and entire body strength.

Do Sit-Ups

You can make your kids do sit-ups on the yoga mat as an easy exercise. 

They can do as many sit-ups as they are comfortable, and you can slowly encourage them to increase the number as time passes. 

Steps to do:

• Make them lie on the yoga mat on their backs.
• Instruct them to interlace their fingers behind the head and keep their knees together, upward toward the ceiling. 
• Then, you can ask them to try to lift their upper bodies off the floor, toward the thighs, and lower themselves back again on the yoga mat.

Sit-ups can help your kids improve their body posture, strengthen their core muscles, and increase their control of the body.

Do Arm Circles

Arm 💪🏼 circles are an easy exercise that your kids will enjoy doing!

Steps to Do:

• Make your kids stand and hold out their arms on both sides at shoulder level. 
• They should resemble a T-shape with their hands and body.
• Then, they can rotate their arms in circles forward first, followed by a backward motion for a few seconds each. 

Forming circles with their arms can help kids strengthen and tone their arm and shoulder muscles and improve their upper-body strength. 

Pro Tip:

I made my son make small circles in a faster motion by rotating his arms and then large circles in a slower motion.

Sit Down and Stand Up

You can get your kids to sit down and stand up, which is a simple yet useful exercise. 

Make your sit down and stand up on the floor or a chair, and repeat the same routine a few times.

You can encourage them to do this exercise without using their hands to sit and lift themselves, which might be a difficult task initially, to enjoy the full benefits of the exercise.  

I suggest you include this exercise in a game like Simon Says, where you instruct them to either sit down or stand up as the leader. 

Run or March in One Spot

I recommend you get your kids to run 🏃🏽‍♀️ or march in one spot as an effective exercise routine.

Steps to do:

• You can make your kids stand in one place with their arms by the side and feet together. 
• Then, you can instruct them to run or march in that same spot and move their arms and legs for a few seconds based on whether they are running or marching. 

Running or marching in one spot can help kids develop their core, arm, and leg strength and improve their balance, coordination, and endurance.

Pro Tip:

You can slowly increase the time limit to motivate your kids to challenge themselves with this routine. 

Engage in Alphabet Exercises 

I would say that alphabet 🔤 exercises make the whole process of exercising more fun as they add a touch of curiosity and play.

You can write or print templates of alphabet cards with an exercise that begins with each letter. Kids can do the exercise assigned to each letter card, which makes it more fun for them.

Play Ball Games

If you have a few balls with you, you can come up with various exercises in the form of fun and engaging games for kids to do, which also brings out their competitive side.

Kids can engage in various activities with the ball 🎾, like dribbling, passing, kicking, bouncing, throwing them at a wall, aiming them into a basket, and so on.

The best part is that your kids can do these activities either indoors or outdoors, which makes for great aerobic exercise and improves coordination and balance. 

Pro Tip:

When your kids play with a ball indoors, I recommend you give them softballs, sponge balls, foam balls, etc., to avoid any items breaking or falling around the house and ensure your kids are safe and injury-free.

Jump with Jump Rope

Jump rope is simple for kids of all ages and abilities to try, and you just need a jump rope for this exercise.

What you can do:

• I recommend you provide your kids with a jump rope and let them jump over the rope for a few seconds to a minute, which you can time. 
• You can challenge them to gradually increase their speed after they become comfortable jumping rope.

This exercise provides your kids with a full-body workout, develops their balance and coordination, and improves their cardio and muscle strength.

Pro Tip:

I want to share a tip for when you choose a rope for your little ones – make sure you choose a jump rope according to the height of your kids. 

You can opt for jump ropes that are adjustable to accommodate the growing height of your kids.

Climb a Flight of Stairs

A flight of stairs at your home or apartment building is enough to provide kids with an effective low-impact exercise routine. 

You can get your kids to climb up and climb down the stairs a few times. Kids can also climb the stairs a bit faster and descend the stairs with a slight jog to make the exercise a bit more challenging.

Climbing a flight of stairs is a great way to burn a lot of calories, improve core strength, and build stamina and endurance. 

Play a Game of Hopscotch

Hopscotch is a classic and popular outdoor game that involves jumping from one square to another, making it an exercise of sorts.

You can draw a hopscotch grid with numbered squares using chalk pieces on the sidewalk or cement path. Make your kids jump from one square to another based on the numbers 🔢 in front of them. 

Hopscotch is a fun game for kids to play and also helps them improve their balance and coordination. 

Pro Tip:

You can play this game indoors with foam tiled hopscotch play mats that you can buy, or make them with cardboard squares for your kids to play.

Do Squats

Squats are a bodyweight exercise that your kids can do to help with their day-to-day movements and promote mobility. 

You can make your kids squat on the floor for a few seconds.

There are many variations of squats that you can make your kids do. 

• Let your kids hold a couch, chair, or stool with one arm for support.
• Place a toy at a lower level for your kids to bend to that level.
• Place a wedge or block under one leg for your kids to make it more challenging to squat.
• Spread building blocks, toys, shaving cream, etc., on the floor for your kids to engage in play while sitting in the squat position for a prolonged period, and so on.

Squats are an effective exercise that can help your kids build their leg strength and stability, develop their core muscles, improve their coordination and agility, and regulate their senses.

Play a Game of Simon Says

I recommend you get your kids to play the classic game of Simon Says 🗣️, which kids love, with a twist to make it more exercise-related.

You can be the leader and give your kids starting with the words Simon Says, followed by an action they have to do. 

Here, you can include exercise-related commands for kids to follow like, – 

• Run, march, hop, or jump for a certain distance or in the same spot 
• Do an animal walk
• Climb a certain number of stairs
• Do a specified number of squats, jumping jacks, or sit-ups
• Do a military crawl, and so on.

The basic idea is that you can utilize any of the exercises that I have listed in this article as a command while playing Simon Says to include exercise in a lively game.

Benefits of Exercises for Kids

There are various benefits to your kids exercising regularly, and I have listed some of the benefits below –

Aids Active Lifestyle 

I would say that it is essential for kids to maintain an active lifestyle with play and exercise. 

Including exercises in the daily ⏰ routine of your kids can go a long way in improving their physical and mental health.

Even an hour of exercise or physical activity can keep your kids active and feeling fresh and energized, which contributes to their overall fitness.

Improves Mental Health

As much as exercises are essential for physical health, it is also essential to improve the mental 🧠 health of our kids.

Studies show that exercise reduces anxiety and depression, acts as a mood booster to reduce the impact of negative moods, and lessens stress levels. If you make certain lifestyle changes by including more exercise time for your kids, it can help improve their mental health. 

I found that my son experienced a change in his outlook, moods, and emotions as he began exercising consistently every day.

Promotes Fitness

I would say that exercise can help your kids improve their fitness 🤸🏽‍♀️ levels due to the physical nature of the routines. 

Being physically fit and healthy is essential for our kids to lead a healthy life, and this also involves the well-being of the mind and body alike.

Exercising regularly also provides your kids with a boost of energy and allows them to focus and concentrate.

Strengthens Bones and Muscles

Regular exercise can strengthen the bones 🩻, muscles, and joints of your kids, which are essential to help the body move.

Healthy bones, muscles, and joints are essential for your kids to stay physically active and carry on with their day-to-day activities.

Reduces Risk of Chronic Diseases and Illnesses

Studies have shown that regular and consistent exercise can reduce the chance of chronic diseases 🤕 and illnesses 🤒 in your kids.

As a mother, the health of my kids is a priority, and I cannot stress enough how essential exercises can be to reduce or manage the risk of possible health problems. 

Exercise can help minimize the risk of various types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart-related disease, high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and arthritis.

Enhances Quality of Life

I would say that consistently doing exercise contributes to enhancing the quality of life ⭐️ of your kids. 

Exercise does help kids live healthier lives and even longer lives, but it also helps them have a better life. It helps them improve their emotional and social functioning as well as their physical functioning of the body.

As a mother, I feel at peace knowing that these simple exercises can go a long way in enhancing the way my kids live and make their lives much better due to physical activity.

Promotes Better Sleep

If your kids have trouble sleeping well at night, I would recommend a solution, and that involves making your kids exercise regularly to sleep 💤 better at night.

Regular exercise and physical activity can reduce insomnia in your kids and complaints of not being able to fall asleep at night. Sleep is essential for kids as poor sleep patterns can negatively impact their following day.

Breaks Away Sedentary Lifestyle

When our kids are at home, they sometimes spend too much time in front of the screens 📱 and don’t get enough movement for a period of time – then they are leading what is called a sedentary lifestyle. 

A lack of exercise can lead to various problems like being overweight and risk of illnesses. 

Tips to Remember

I would like to share some tips 📝 to make the experience of exercising more fun and effective for your kids based on the things that I did for my son –

• You can plan ahead and make a schedule 🗓️ to include exercises in your kids’ daily routines to encourage them to stay consistent and motivated.
• You can get your kids to engage with various exercises by including them in games 🎲 and imaginative play activities to make the process more engaging. 
• You can change the settings of the environment where your kids exercise by letting them do it indoors 🏠 and outdoors 🌳. A change of scene does wonders to excite kids.
• You can also play some lively music 🎶 or your kids’ favorite songs in the background as they exercise to create an energetic and charged atmosphere. 
• You can get your kids to explore exercises that they are most drawn to and excited about and then slowly introduce them to new exercise routines to do.

A Note of Caution for You

As much as it is essential for kids to exercise every day and often, there are chances that the routines become too much for them to do.

So, I suggest that you closely monitor your kids and take note of how they are feeling to prevent over-exercising 🤕, whose signs are physical burnout, fatigue, and loss of interest.

Another aspect is the safety of our kids, which is essential to us as parents. I recommend you make sure to check if your kids are doing the exercises correctly with supervision and guidance to avoid possible injuries 🩼, sprains 🩹, and strains 😥. 

Conclusion

I am happy to share that these simple exercises have helped my son in many ways, and he enjoys doing all of them, which have had a positive impact on his health and fitness. 

As a mother, I would definitely recommend that you include simple exercises in their daily routine and encourage them to stay consistent to reap the benefits.

I hope you found this guide to easy exercises for your kids helpful and that you were able to discover some for your kids to try at home.

Please let me know in the comments if you have any more easy exercise ideas that kids can do or any questions for me to answer – I would love to hear your feedback! 😊