This afternoon I surprised my boys by letting them try out a local gym’s crossfit for kids program. They were so excited to workout and show off their skills. I reminded them that it was a time to learn to listen to their coach as well as follow directions.
All three of my boys jumped right in and were eager to learn, follow, and do the skills for the agenda. Even my youngest (4 years old) was ready to show Coach Jen his skills.
They warmed up their bodies by running and doing agility style movements. This was super fun to watch as a mom… watching my children learn from another teacher and following directions.
Coach Jen was very careful to make sure each child was listening. She instructed one of the older students to lead the pack as he was familiar with Jen’s coaching. The boys running so close to the road made me nervous, but I was close by observing. They looked so cute out there running as a pack.
After their running warm up, the crew was brought inside for agility style movements to warm up their body. The three students who were regulars led the way to show my boys how it was done. I think you can tell by the expression and body language that my now 6 year old totally thought he could do the moves no problem.
This was a lesson in patience, following directions and listening. It was very amusing to me to watch my boys in this element. Two were very easy and eager to be coached. One child thought he would rather be goofy and do his own thing. He got called out on his non-following-directions in a loving way often.
The boys did toe touches, walking lunges, walking squats, and straight legged bear crawls to warm up their little bodies for their routine.
After the warm up, they got prescribed weight and began their strength routine. Over head and chest hold squats. Deep crossfit style squats. My four year old rocked these moves, if I do say so myself.
After the weighted squats they did a bunch of jumping and hopping around on their weight plate. This called for coordination and following directions. After the last set my youngest got frustrated that he couldn’t hop correctly that he decided to take a break and sit with Mommy the duration of the workout.
The group had warmed up, worked on strength, and now it was time to do their WOD. Yes, the kiddos had their own WOD. It was an 8 minute AMRAP style workout. If I remember correctly: 20 front lunges, 10 arms up push-ups, 10 to the toes sit-ups.
My oldest was really getting into it. He became Mr. Serious and was a sweaty mess at the end of the workout. He really enjoyed it. My middle (6 years old) loved it too… although he was a bit of a space cadet halfway through the WOD. My youngest enjoyed it, but I think it was a bit too much for his 4 year old body… although I am sure he would love to do it again.
The boys enjoyed trying out their free trial class at our local WarriorZ. I loved the people I met and the feel of the gym. Now we just need to decide whether or not we leave our glob-o-gym (that we love) or try something new for a while.
I love crossfit and the functional fitness side of the workout. The crossfit for kids program my boys tried today was fun. Working out should be fun!
Carla says
My daughter would love this!!
I need to find a similar program in oakland.
Rachel says
Yes!! I think she totally would! I would call around in your area to local crossfit gyms to see if they have a kid program. 🙂
Lexie Wolf says
This is wonderful! I haven’t heard of Crossfit for Kids in our area – great idea. Thanks for sharing this.
Monique says
I haven’t done anything like that, but I think it’s great to show kids how to exercise in a formal, but informal way. It can lead to great lifelong habits. Now I need to take my girls for a walk.
Jenn says
This class looks awesome! Fun, interesting and ever changing. Perfect to keep small minds focused! I wish they offered something similar by me.
Kecia says
My husband is SO into CrossFit right now and he keeps trying to get me started. I plan to soon, but the workouts he talks about sound pretty intense some days! I wonder if there is a kids class around here. My son would probably love it, and my husband would be thrilled he was doing CrossFit!