The Best Strength Training Program for Kids (and Maybe You Too)
For years, my kids have followed me to my garage gym. (Even before we had a real home gym, they would steal random dumbbells or yoga balls that I thought I bought for myself.) I encouraged their interest, but wondered how I could encourage them to exercise. habit? It took a while, but I think I figured it out.
Now my three children are aged 6 to 12. The oldest is definitely ready for structured strength training: he wants to get stronger for the sport he plays, and he’s organized enough to have a daily routine that includes going to the garage gym. . However, when I tried to get him through a workout, he tends to get bored or frustrated. (Imagine whining “are we there yet?” while driving, but here it’s “how many sets left?”) I would rather have him have fun and develop a habit than work on something that I consider optimal for training . .
The younger ones still do it just for fun, which is great, but then they’ll be hanging around the gym while I ‘m trying to lift weights and demanding that I train them too. So I was looking for a strength program that was simple enough to be offered on the spur of the moment, yet fun and interesting enough to keep me from whining while I was trying to set up my own workout. And I think I found it.
I wrote this or something very similar on the chalkboard in the gym:
LIGHT STRENGTH
2 sets of 5: cup squats
2 sets of 5 reps: kettlebell deadlift
2 sets of 5: bench press
2 sets of 5 reps: Croc rows
2 carriers, any heavy item of your choice
The title and set/rep scheme is from a book I’ve heard about but admittedly haven’t read. ( There is a version of the Easy Strength program here if you want to understand where it came from and how you can modify it for more serious athletes.) I want to be clear that any modifications to the program program that I have made are not endorsed by the authors; and also that I don’t know what those are, as I just grabbed the central ideas and ran with them.
The basic structure I stole looks like this:
- Each exercise is performed for ten repetitions, broken down here into two sets of five repetitions.
- There are always five exercises that fit into the categories: Squats, Pivots, Pushing, Pulling, and Carrying.
- You can do this every day.
- Add weight when it seems too light.
It was a resounding success. The older one weaned from this habit several times, but always returned to it without my prodding. Sometimes his younger brother joins him and they train together. And even my youngest child can complete the five exercises on the board, although for some of them she needs my help.
Why do my kids love this
First, they were sold in the name. If you’re a child who easily chokes or gets frustrated in gym class, the idea that exercise can be “easy” is appealing and even revolutionary. According to the document describing the Light Strength program, the first time you do an exercise, it should be light enough that it feels like a 5 or 6 on a scale of 1 to 10. Or in other words, you’re doing five exercises. reps of each exercise with a weight that you could do 9 or 10 reps with if you wanted to. (You can add weight if you feel frisky, but it should never be heavy .)
Secondly, we chose exercises that they like. I wish my kids could do more pushups, but the older ones prefer the bench press (and they know how to do it right with the fuses in our rack). They hate almost every type of squat except the goblet squat, so: okay. A cup is better than nothing.
Thirdly, and I think this is the key point, we have chosen exercises that do not require preparation time . We have small, medium and large weights. Depending on the child, they use a medium or large weight for the deadlift and a small or medium size for the squat. At first I thought they might start tying small weights to the kettlebells to increase the weight, but they preferred to keep working with the same kettlebell until it got too easy, and then they tried it with the next larger size. Hey, it works.
Why It’s Secretly A Really Reliable Training Program
At first it looks almost ridiculous. Just two sets per exercise? The first time my senior did this, he was in and out of the gym in less than 15 minutes. Now that he knows where to find everything and how to do a minimal setup, he can do it in a few days in less than 10.
But here’s the thing: The optimal point for building muscle and strength is thought to be around 10 to 20 sets per muscle per week, and beginners can get away with a little less. If you do two sets every day, that’s 14 in a week. If you only train for five days and rest on weekends, that’s still 10 sets. And if you’re a kid who goes to the gym a few times a week and sort of forgets about it the rest of the time, that’s still six sets a week, which is way more than zero.
Do they need rest days? I hear you mumbling on your screen. Not necessary. Remember that if you are doing a volume of work that you are used to (or that is initially small), you can do it almost every day. For example, you can go for a walk every day. Manual workers come to work every day.
Or, to think of it another way, no one would bat an eyelid at a program that consisted of three to four sets of each exercise on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It’s the same thing, just spread over more days. It’s the same amount of work. (And no, there is no law of nature that requires you to take a day off between strength training sessions ; rest days are just made for easy scheduling.)
How to start doing this with your kids (or yourself)
If you want to create something similar for yourself or your family, here are some tips to get you started.
The most important thing is that the children (or you) know how to do the exercises that are included in the program. If a child needs to learn how to squat , deadlift and everything else, it is unlikely that he will go through the first day without tears. But if you’re already training them with air squats or reminding them to keep their back straight when they’re interested in lifting your kettlebell, then they may be ready to incorporate these exercises into their program. If you don’t know where to start, ask them what they did in PE class.
Once they have mastered the exercises and are able to do them safely, you can let them do the exercises on their own if age permits. This is where the zero-configuration rule comes into play: make sure they can get in and get started without asking you to download the bar. Kettlebells and fixed (non-adjustable) dumbbells are great for this, but remember that bodyweight movements also require little to no training.
For example, you can invite children to do push-ups with their hands on a bench. As they get stronger, they can do them on the floor and then move on to putting their feet on a bench . Stepping is a great option when air squats get too easy. Inverted rows are a good “pull” exercise, and they can turn into pull-ups if you have a barbell. Take a look at our list of bodyweight movements that are good for strength development and pick some that will suit your small (or not-so-small) ones.
And if you’re doing this for yourself, consider a version called “Even Lighter Power” explained here . You will have the opportunity to work up to a heavy single once every two weeks, and sometimes do sets of 10 reps. And where your kids may appreciate familiarity with the exercises, you can change them every other week or whenever you want. For example, in a squat-themed slot, you can switch between squats, lunges, step-ups, and single-leg squats with no weight per box (or any other options you like).
Is this the best way to build strength and muscle? I wouldn’t train like that for a powerlifting competition. But any routine you actually do is better than doing nothing. So if you don’t want to set complex workout plans for yourself, make it easy for yourself to stay healthy by setting up a program that’s fast enough to fit into your day and that you’ve designed to make you enjoy it. After all, why should kids have fun?