Physical activity for kids and teens

Hi guys, my name's Kayla. I'm an Accredited Exercise Physiologist and today I'm going to take you through some fun exercises and activities that you can do at home.

It's important that we exercise each and every day, both for our physical and mental health.

Some fun activities you could set up is some obstacle courses or different games around the house to play with your brothers and sisters, or even mum and dad.

First we're going to get started with a warm-up, and then I'm going to take you through some different activities.

So the first exercise we're going to do is a Spider-Man or Spider-Girl crawl. So I want you to picture like a Spider-Man climbing up the side of a wall.

So I'm going to need you to come down onto the ground. So if you come down onto your hands and knees, we're going to step back like we're in a push up position.

From here we're going to take one leg forward and the same arm forward.

Opposite side, like we're crawling up the wall. You can also do this backwards, so coming back, up and down, climbing up the wall.

So you can keep going forwards and back doing this, keep that bum low. Climbing up and down. Awesome work.

Next exercise, I want you to think like you're an NBA player on the court.

So you're going to take your ball, you're going to bend down and shoot for that three pointer.

So we bend low, shoot up nice and tall. Bend down, give it a throw. Let's try a few of these.

Okay, next exercise, we're going to be a surfer on those big barrels in the ocean.

So I want you to come down onto the ground, lying on your tummy.

From here, imagine you've got that big wave coming behind. Big push up, into a deep lunge. Holding it there.

Good, we're going to come back down, onto your tummy. Big push up, to the other way.

We're going to try these, maybe five on each side. So push it up, deep lunge.

Coming down, push up, deep lunge, good. One more each side.

Deep lunge, coming back down. Push up, into a deep lunge. Well done.

Next exercise can be a little bit tricky. We're going to be making some patterns with our feet.

So we're going to be stepping out, behind, step together. Out, behind, step together.

So this is a great burn. So we can try and pick up the pace a little bit, so step behind, step together.

Step behind, step together.

Make it a little bit trickier, let's add a hop on the end.

Step behind, step jump. Step behind, step jump.

(claps hands) Let's add a clap.

Step behind, step jump. (claps hands) Step behind, good. (claps hands) A few more.

Jump. (claps hands) And jump. (claps hands) Well done.

Okay so the next thing we're going to work on is some balance and hopping skills.

So find an area that you can do some walking around in.

So what I want you to do, starting feet together, I want you to take one foot in front of the other, heel to toe.

Then we're going to take the other foot, heel to toe.

Imagine like you're walking on a tight rope. See how many steps forward you can take, try not to fall over.

Now for an extra challenge, can you do it backwards?

So heel to toe, taking steps back, try not to look down. Try and stay in the same spot, walking on that tight rope.

Let's try it again. So walking forward, see if you can go a little bit faster.

And then coming back. Well done.

So the next exercise I want to try. Can we stand on one foot?

See if you can just stand here first, try not to fall over, try not to put that foot down.

Now from here, can you hop on the spot? Good, let's try the other leg, same thing.

Standing on one spot, try not to put that foot down. Now let's hop on the spot.

Awesome, so now think of some shapes that you could make, maybe hopping around in a spot.

So we could try a square. So we could jump two feet forward, to the side, back, back across.

Let's try it on one leg. Hopping forward, to the side, back, to the side, good.

Some other fun shapes might be a triangle. You could hop forward, back and to the side.

You could really challenge yourself with something like a hexagon or octagon. With multiple little sides.

Try and hop around on one foot and then maybe back on the other side. Give it a try.

So once you've done your exercises, it's important to cool down and stretch out your body.

So first things first, bending down reaching for your toes.

You should feel a bit of a pull through the back of your legs, and we're going to hold it here.

Stretching out your arms and shoulders, bringing that arm across your chest, and squeezing it in.

Remember to do the other side as well.

Making some little circles with your arms going back, you can get bigger.

And then head forwards, so little circles coming forward, getting bigger.

Stretching out those shoulders. Stretching to the side. And to the other side.

Awesome, well done guys.

Give yourselves a pat on the back, you did a really great job.

Try some different activities, making different squares and shapes. And let us know how you go.