The Best Strength Training Program for Kids (and Maybe You Too)
For years, my kids followed me to the 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 wanted to encourage their interest, but I wondered: How can I encourage them to make exercise a habit? It took a while, but I think I figured it out.
I came up with this routine when my three children were between 6 and 12 years old. The oldest was definitely ready for structured strength training: he wanted to get stronger in the sports he played, and he was organized enough to have a daily routine that included going to the garage gym. The younger ones were still just interested in having fun, which was great, but they would wander into the gym while I was trying to lift weights and demand that I give them a workout too. So I was looking for a lifting program that was simple enough to be offered on the spur of the moment, but also fun and interesting enough to keep me from whining while I was trying to get started with my own workout. I found something that worked. great for everyone and this is my recommendation for anyone who wants to do a little strength training every day.
I wrote this or something like it on the whiteboard in the gym:
LIGHTWEIGHT DURABILITY
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2 sets of 5: goblet squats
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2 sets of 5 reps: kettlebell deadlift
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2 sets of 5: bench press
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2 sets of 5: Croc rows
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2 carriers, any heavy item of your choice
The title and set/rep diagram come from a book I’ve heard about but admittedly haven’t read. I want to make it clear that any changes I have made to the program are not approved by the authors; and also that I don’t know what it is, since I just grabbed the central ideas and ran with them.
The basic structure I stole is as follows:
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Each exercise is performed for ten repetitions, here divided into two sets of five.
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There are always five exercises that fit into categories: squats, hinges , pushes, pulls, and carries.
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You can do this every day.
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Add weight when it feels too easy.
It was a stunning success. The eldest lost the habit of this habit several times, but always returned to it without any instigation from me. Sometimes his younger brother joins him and they train together. And even my youngest daughter can do five exercises on the board, although she needs my help for some of them.
Why did my kids like it?
First, they were sold on behalf of. If you’re a kid who gets easily bored or frustrated in gym class, the idea that exercise can be “easy” is appealing, even revolutionary. According to the document describing the Easy Strength program, the first time you do the exercise, it should be fairly easy for you to feel like a 5 or 6 on a scale of 1 to 10. Or to put it another way: you do five exercises. reps of each exercise with a weight that you could do for nine or 10 reps if you wanted. (You can add weight if you’re feeling frisky, but it should never be heavy .)
Secondly, we chose exercises that they enjoy. I would like my kids to do more push-ups, but the older ones prefer the bench press (and they know how to do it correctly, with the safeties in our rack). They hate almost every type of squat except the goblet squat, so: okay. A cup is better than nothing.
Third, and I think this is key, we chose exercises that require no preparation time (or, sometimes, very short setup). We have small, medium and large weights. Depending on the child, they used medium or heavy weights for deadlifts and light or medium weights for squats. At first I thought they might start attaching small plates to the weights to add weight, but they preferred to keep working with the same weight until it felt too light and then try the next larger size. Hey, it works.
Why It’s a Truly Reliable Workout Program
At first glance it looks almost funny. Just two sets of each exercise? The first time my oldest did this, he was in and out of the gym in less than 15 minutes. Once he became more familiar with where to find everything and how to do minimal setup, he finished the job in less than 10 days.
But here’s the thing: the sweet spot for building muscle mass and strength is considered to be around 10-20 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 take days off, that’s still 10 sets. And if you’re a kid who goes to the gym a few times a week and forgets about it the rest of the time, that’s still six sets a week, which is a lot more than zero.
Don’t they need rest days? I can hear you muttering on the screen. Not necessarily. Remember, if you do the amount of work you’ve adapted to (or small to begin with), you can do it almost every day. For example, you could go for a walk every day. Manual workers come to work every day.
Or, to put it another way: no one is going to pay attention to a program in which each exercise consists of three or four sets on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It’s the same thing, only extended over several days. It’s the same amount of work. (And no, there is no law of nature that says you need to take a day off between strength training sessions ; rest days are simply designed for convenient scheduling.)
How to start doing this with your kids (or yourself)
If you’re looking 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 perform the exercises included in the program. If a child needs to learn how to squat , deadlift , and everything else, the likelihood of him making it through the first day without crying is slim. But if you’ve already trained them with air squats or reminded them to keep their back straight when they’re interested in lifting your kettlebell, then they might be ready to incorporate these exercises into their daily routine. If you don’t know where to start, ask them what they did in gym class. For kids who are old enough to follow instructions on YouTube, try this:
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Deadlift (with barbell)
Once they have mastered the exercises and can perform them safely, you can let them do the exercises on their own if age permits. This is where the rule of minimal setup comes in: make sure they can get in and get started without having to ask for help or collect a bunch of different materials from around the room. Kettlebells and fixed (non-adjustable) dumbbells are great for this, but don’t forget that bodyweight movements also require little to no setup.
For example, you can have children do push-ups with their hands on a bench. As they get stronger, they can do exercises on the floor and then progress to placing their feet on a bench . Step-ups are a great option when air squats become too easy. Inverted rows are a good “pulling” exercise and can be transitioned into pull-ups if you have a barbell. Take a look at my list of bodyweight exercises that are good for building strength and pick out some exercises that will work for your little (or not-so-little) kids.
And if you’re doing this for yourself, consider a version called “An Even Simpler Power” explained here . You’ll have the opportunity to perform a heavy single every two weeks, and sometimes do sets of 10 reps. And if your kids can appreciate the familiarity of the exercises, you can change them every two weeks or whenever you want. For example, in the squat slot, you can switch between squats, lunges, step-ups, and single-leg squats without weights on a box (or any other variations you like).
Is this the best way to build strength and muscle? I mean, I wouldn’t train for a powerlifting competition that way. But any routine you actually do is a hell of a lot better than doing nothing. So if you don’t want to challenge yourself with rigid workout plans, make staying healthy easier by creating a program that’s quick enough to fit into your day and that you design to be fun. After all, why should kids have fun?