How to Exercise with Kids (8 Workouts to Try)

So you’ve got kids running around the house… 

And you need to work out, but can’t seem to distract the little monsters any longer?

No problem!

Many of our coaching clients have to train at home with their kids around. Today, we’ll show you how to get them involved!

Our coaches build workouts for busy people who juggle multiple roles. Learn more here!

Here’s what we’ll cover:

Let’s jump right in!

Quite a few of our Nerd Fitness Coaches are parents, so they know firsthand how challenging it can be to train while you have a three-year-old running around in the background.

When I asked them for advice for this guide, the most common response I received went something like: 

“Training with kids running around is going to be chaos. That’s okay. Do the best you can.”

In other words, it might be challenging to hit personal records (PRs) in your deadlift while also watching over a four-year-old.

This doesn’t mean “Don’t bother working out.” 

It just means you should forgive yourself ahead of time if all doesn’t go according to plan.

If you want proof of how working out with kids can be “a hot mess,” watch Coach Matt exercising with his young children. 

The video is all sorts of adorbs. 

THE BEGINNER BODYWEIGHT WORKOUT (KIDS EDITION):

When working out with kids, remember:

#1) Meet kids where they are. For young kids, invite them to be a partner. Maybe they can count your reps, tell you when to start, etc. 

On the other hand, older kids might be able to participate more fully, and maybe even train alongside you. 

No matter what, it’s a good idea to invite kids to join when and IF they want, without requiring it. 

#2 ) While every kid is different, here are some very general guidelines from Coach Matt’s experience:

• 2-6 Years Old. These kids are often way more interested in just playing, wrestling, etc. So doing a specific workout may be challenging. However, these kids may still want to be a part of things, so look for ways to get them involved. 
• 7-12 Years Old. At this age, they can start handling a little more structure. They will probably really enjoy “skills” training (more on this below), as well as many play aspects.
• 13+ (Depending on the Kid). They may be ready to step in and join you more fully in a workout if they want to.

#3) Consider a focus on skills/practice. It can be really frustrating to have a timed exercise or workout interrupted. 

Instead, consider thinking of it like “practice time” of building a skill. You can practice for a couple of minutes, take a break, come back to it, etc.

Kids might respond better to “skills” training instead of “exercises” too. Together, you can practice:

• Crawling
• Jumping
• Swinging
• Getting up and down off the floor
• Dancing
• Throwing/Catching

This might go over better than “let’s do squats” or “push-ups.”

#4) There are lots of different ways to get workouts in throughout the day:

• Short workouts: a lot of times Coach Matt finds himself squeezing a workout in 10 mins or less.
• Accumulation: take little micro-breaks throughout the day to do a couple of reps of some bodyweight exercises. Kind of like “exercise snacks.” 
• Longer workouts: maybe creating that time and space for your training is still important. If possible, defend this time and let the kids move in and out of the frame as they are interested.
• “I go, you go”: you may snag a workout set in, then play a game with your kids, then go back to the workout set. Breaking it up like this can make them still feel engaged and give you a little more time to train.

#5) Whatever happens is okay! Remember, do the best you can, and it’s perfectly fine if your workout gets cut short because your kid starts drawing on the walls.

This is much like a normal bodyweight squat, but with your kids sitting on your shoulders.

Coach Matt recommends having your kid’s legs come forward, and for you to grab them, almost like you would with a safety squat bar.

Before attempting this, make sure you can do squats with comparable weight! 

#2) Lunges

Much like the bodyweight squats above, but instead do a lunge:

Since you’re engaging one leg at a time, this can be really challenging with a kid on your shoulders.

#3) Touch the Sky

As Coach Matt explains, getting young kids to do squats and push-ups might be tough.

But kids do like to jump! 

For “Touch the Sky,” sit in a squat or frog position. Then stand up tall, arms reaching towards the sky.

Bonus points if you jump up!

This will train many of the same muscles as you would with squats.

#4) Jumps

Another good squat substitution to try with kids is long jumps!

You probably want to try this on some type of soft surface (or in your backyard), like the tumbling mat Coach Matt uses. As long as it’s safe, jumping can be really fun with kids.

Make a game out of it, by pointing to a line (or marking one with a soft object) and seeing who can jump over it. You’ll not only train your lower body with jumps, but you’ll also build some explosive power.

#5) Push-ups

You have a few options here. 

The first is to have your kid crawl on your back and use them as a weight:

Feel free to do knee push-ups here too if it’s a little too challenging.

The next option is to include your kid in the workout by giving them high-fives between reps:

Lastly, you can have your kids crawl under you between repetitions, trying to worm their way from one end to the other:

#6) Bear Crawl

A fun exercise to do with your kids is to crawl around like a bear with them latched on!

Crawling is a great functional fitness exercise that will help you stay mobile on the floor. A kid on your back will up the intensity of the workout. 

Bonus points if you make growling and roaring noises.

#7) Goat Bag Hinge

This exercise will have you strengthening your hinge muscles, kind of like you would in a kettlebell swing or deadlift. 

Stand tall, clenching your kid, chest to chest. Have them hold onto you too.

Push your hips back, again, like you would in a kettlebell swing. When your torso is parrell-ish to the ground, come back up, driving through your heels. 

#8) Balancing

One leg balances can become a lot more challenging when your kid is trying to push you over:

Another idea is to stand on one leg, then have your kid push you, and use that force to jump onto your other leg. Attempt to only use one leg at a time to balance:

You can also hoist them up and help them hang from something (ninjas always have to climb up buildings), which would work if you have a pull-up bar:

Don’t have a pull-up bar? We makeshift clever replacements in our guide to building a home gym.

Some house parkour might also be in the cards here. 

#2) Chase (Cops and Robbers)

Here, you’re gonna build some type of fort. When playing this game, Coach Matt stands up his gymnastic mat tall and together, then places his kids in the middle.

Their job? Escape!

Run and track them down and send them back to jail (or your makeshift fort).

Feel free to teach them the phrase, “You’ll never catch me alive, coppers!”

#3) Freeze Ball

This might require a purchase, but foam dodgeballs are a great way to play with kids.

Have the different colored dodgeballs result in a different outcome:

• Red: if you’re hit with the “fireball,” hop five times in a row.
• Blue: if you’re hit with the “iceball,” you need to freeze for five seconds. 
• Green: if you’re hit with the “earthball,” it’s time to place your chest to the ground, like you would in a burpee.

#4) Animal Walks

Have someone call out an animal. Then everyone has to walk around like that!

Walking to Mordor is much tougher if you need to crawl like a snake for part of the journey.

#5) Hot Lava

With this game, you’re more or less building an obstacle course in your house, trying to jump from furniture to furniture…because the floor is now lava.

Here are some ideas on creating home obstacle courses:

Another fun way to start this game: start counting down from 5 out loud.

After “1” shout “hot lava” and if anyone is still on the normal floor, it’s time for them to start playing like Gollum when he finally got the ring:

This is a fun standing game to ensure spontaneous activity.

#6) Jump/Duck

This game is pretty easy: take an imaginary sword and swing high or low at the kids, or have them come at you with their imaginary weapon.

You need to either jump if they’re coming low or duck if they’re coming high.

This is really simple, but lots of fun, and can be done with a group of people.

#7) King of the Log (Balance Challenges)

Much like the balance exercises we showed you earlier, but as a game!

Find some territory (a mat, some comfy carpet, grass) and try to push the other off it. Let your kiddos team on you for a more even match.

#8) Wolf & Rabbit

Create a mark or identify a “safe place” within a short sprint away. 

Have two people face each other, but keep enough distance that the “Rabbit” feels comfortable reaching safety.

The Rabbit stays frozen until the Wolf makes a move. Then the Rabbit attempts to sprint to safety before the Wolf can tag it.

#9) Ninja Red Light, Green Light

If you’ve ever played “Red Light, Green Light” this is similar, although it involves some sneaking around, because ninjas.

“The Mark” walks around aimlessly, taking turns liberally, while the Ninja tries to sneak up behind and tag them. 

If the Mark faces the Ninja, the Ninja must freeze. 

Otherwise, the Ninja is free to tag the Mark.

#9) Commando

This game is kind of like Ninja Red Light, Green Light.

• You have a Counter (normally the adult).
• You have Runners (kids).

The Counter picks a number from five to ten, then counts down.

Before doing so, they announce “Fast” or “Slow.”

• Fast, you would count “5, dot, 4, dot, 3, dot, 2, dot, 1.”
• Slow, you would count “5, dot, dot, 4, dot, dot, 3, dot, dot, 2, dot, dot, 1.”

So twice as many “dots” are said allowed.

While the Counter counts, they move about (carefully) with their eyes closed. They make sure to turn around a lot to keep the Runners on their toes.

When the Counter reaches “1,” they freeze and open their eyes.

Any Runners caught in the Counter’s eyes has to do a silly “croak.”

1. Use every minute. Yep, that means you might be breaking up your workout. This is fine.
2. Talk to your partner. If there’s another parent involved, share with them your goals. Maybe one of you can watch the kids while the other works out.
3. Involve your kids.  You can always do some exercises with your kiddos. Who knows, you might even help them find a love of working out.
4. Play some games. You can try one of the 10 games we mentioned above, or even a more traditional sport might be fun if they can handle it.

If you’re juggling working out with your kiddos around, give the video a watch.

If you need more ideas, here are 40 ways to exercise without realizing it. 

However, if your kids are not into it, that’s okay. Just try to sneak in whatever workout you can, when you can.

Do the best you can. 

The most important thing you can do now: try an exercise or game with your kids!

You’ll never know how your kids deal with your workouts, until you try it out.

So pick one of the exercises or games we highlighted and give it a whirl.

If it devolves to chaos, you can always try again with a different workout or strategy.

Again, just do the best you can.

If you want some more help, Nerd Fitness is here for you.

We have three options on how to continue with us. Pick the option that best aligns with your goals:

Option #1) If you want a daily prompt for doing home workouts, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).

Try your free trial right here:

Option #2) If you want a professional coach in your pocket, who can do video form checks, provide feedback, and adjust your workouts based on the equipment you have available, check out our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program! 

For example, let’s say you find yourself stuck indoors and you want somebody to custom-build you a workout program based on the equipment and furniture you have. That’s where an online coach is a game-changer! 

Personally, I’ve been working with the same online coach since 2015 and it’s changed my life. You can learn more by clicking on the box below: 

Our coaching program changes lives. Learn how!

Option #3) Become part of the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.

Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our Rebel Starter Kit, which includes all of our “work out from home” guides.

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Alright, I want to hear from you and your experience with working out with your children! 

Are you a parent who is now learning how to exercise with your kids?

Any tips or tricks for training with screaming kids in the background?

Any fun games we missed?

Let me know in the comments!

-Steve

P.S. If you have older kids, they might be more into doing a workout right alongside you. If so, have them pick a routine from The 7 Best At-Home Workouts and try it together!

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Photo Source: Cargo bike family, The clones are working hard, Family looking into sunset, Untitled, Simpson…Maggie Simpson.