Get Your Kids Moving!

It's not always about "Me Time" when it comes to lifting and training.  If you train out of your garage, make it a point to include your kids now and then.  You have an opportunity to connect with them and to instill a sense of fun with training.

How should you start?

First, don't make training an event.  Don't make it a big deal.  It's just something you do.  It's what all humans do (right?).  Apart from digging into the socio-economic reasons why we need physical training to augment an otherwise sedentary existence, let's assume for now that training and physical activity is simply something we all need to do, like drinking water and using the toilet, if you miss doing either, bad things happen.  Hell, Socrates knew it was the right thing to do, and he didn't even have the internet.

Second, remove the idea that some forms of physical movement are punishment.  Burpees and running are often used by coaches to punish players that aren't paying attention.  Maybe that's not a bad thing, but now these guys think running is for when you've done something bad.  There's a reason so many people hate running.

Third, make it fun, at your own expense. This week's video is of my nephew (also a dad) pushing a couple of noisy kids down the sidewalk.  The prowler wasn't on the whiteboard today, but it was on the list of todo's for the kids, because this is not the first time they've been on the "sled".  It's fun and whoever is pushing is getting a crazy hard workout.

Getting your kids involved with training is a great way to connect with them and to help instill a lifelong love of physical culture.

Here are a couple final tips for training with your kids:

1. Keep it safe.  Keep it light and body-weight oriented.  Push-ups, plank-hold contests, pull-ups and broad jumps are fun ways that will tax your kids stamina, get them stronger, and keep it relatively safe.
2. Keep your own training expectations low.  Don't expect to do a full set of Smolov squats if your kids are around.  Don't expect to be able to focus on your deadlift when one of your progeny is yelling: "GO MR. MUSCLES! GO MR. MUSCLES" a few inches from your face.
3. Set aside time just to train with your kids.  Make it a weekly thing.  At least twice a week will make an impact.  Today's schools have such a minimal emphasis on physical education that they're lucky to get more than one day a week of "play-with-the-parachute"

That's it for this Sunday.  Hopefully your training is going well.  Next week I will talk about setting up your garage with the basics and how to get the most out of your space.