Is Calisthenics Good For Children
Are you a parent worrying about your kid wanting to do calisthenics? Or, a kid trying to persuade your parent that calisthenics is good for you? Well, regardless of which, we have good news for both…
Calisthenics is a great form of exercise for children. It allows kids to strengthen their muscles and increase bone density to a healthy level relative to their age. It’s safe environment, and gentle movements gain them physical benefits without exposure to testosterone-dominated gyms or using heavy equipment.
Bodyweight resistance is the best training method for kids as the muscle and bone gains are relative to their mass. This increases their relative strength and maintains a low body fat level, so they are physically healthy, but your kid won’t turn into a mini Hulk!
Will Bodyweight Exercise Stunt Children’s Growth
No, calisthenics won’t stunt children’s growth and is safe to train at any age as long as proper form is ensured. It’s a common misconception that it stunts growth – in reality, there is little scientific evidence correlating stunt growth and calisthenics.
Most think it stunts child enlarging due to the strain put on young muscles, cartilage, and tendons. This isn’t the case with calisthenics for two main reasons:
- Calisthenics is all bodyweight resistance. Therefore, the tension they put on their bodies under is relative to their size. This prevents them from putting dangerous (excessive) amounts of pressure on their muscles – which will stunt growth.
- The majority of calisthenics movements are compound exercises. As a result, the tension is distributed across multiple muscle groups. This prevents kids exposing an isolated muscle to too much pressure, which could cause long-term injury.
You can argue the opposite – calisthenics encourages children to get taller. As each movement increases bone density and muscle mass, it offers support to the skeleton when heightening. In addition, calisthenics requires flexibility and a full range of motion in the joints, helping to prevent growing pains and asymmetrical growth when going through puberty.
This isn’t to say kids should have a daily, intense calisthenics workout to be as tall as possible; we just recommend they should be welcomed to play on pull-up bars or practice push-ups at their own free will.
Another note is calisthenics has a range of variations; one includes the use of resistance bands, weighted vests, and medicine balls. We don’t recommend children using these – instead, stick to pure bodyweight exercises at a young age.
Will Calisthenics Prevent Child Obesity
Due to the high intensity of calisthenics, it’s one of the most effective methods to prevent child obesity. As it’s such an energy-demanding activity, sufficient calories are burnt – resulting in kids having low-fat levels and a healthy amount of cholesterol in their bloodstream.
Calisthenics Speeds Metabolism.
Children naturally have a fast metabolism anyway, so coupling this up with calisthenics means the rate at which calories burn is super fast. So, they rapidly process any chocolate bars or crisps they eat!
Calisthenics stops boredom snacking.
Children need entertainment to keep their minds engaged, and calisthenics is as mentally tough as it’s physical, so kids stay focused. Taking this away removes their entertainment, which can encourage mindless eating and consuming calories pointlessly, leading to child obesity.
Consistently training calisthenics brings benefits to kids’ adult lives, too.
Calisthenics gives kids an even faster metabolism. This carries on to adulthood, so when they grow older, their metabolic memory maintains a high rate of calorie burning. So if they become less active, their body still processes food as fast. As a result, their fat levels remain low so they’re less likely to get diseases such as diabetes or obesity.
How Young Can You Start Calisthenics
When we talk about children/kids, what specific age are we referring to?
At around 11 years old, you can begin to introduce basic bodyweight resistance, such as push-ups, squats, or planks, into your routine.
However, this is an average. Everyone has a different body structure at 11 years old, so some may have to start calisthenics when they’re older. All-in-all, it depends on the strength of your muscles and the density of your bones.
If you are always outside, playing, and running, by 11 years old, your body should have a suitable composition to benefit from calisthenics exercise. However, if you spend most of your time indoors, eating junk food, you could injure yourself.
We started our calisthenics journey at 10 years old, where we would do 3 sets of 10 push-ups, squats, and tricep dips in our rooms. At this age, our wrists comfortably held our body weight, and our muscles were developed to undertake extra hypertrophy. We are yet to find any disadvantages from this.
Remember to stick with the basic bodyweight exercises until puberty. Complicated movements can lead to a painful fall if done incorrectly– and if your bones aren’t fully developed may lead to injury. After puberty, your bones are strong enough to take the fall without permanent damage.
We always advise having a parent present. As well as a safety standpoint, calisthenics equipment isn’t made for children. As a result, pull-up bars, dips, or monkey bars may be difficult to reach. Bringing an adult offers support so you can use the equipment safely and prevent injury.
Benefits Of Calisthenics For Kids
The main benefits of calisthenics for kids are it improves their fitness and relative strength, makes them more body-aware, and helps to speed their metabolism:
- Increased Relative Strength
Children become stronger without the use of weights (which are more likely to hurt them). As a result, they are more powerful and can perform challenging tasks – like finally doing the dishes! Climbing, running, and jumping become more impressive as they are able to carry their body weight more efficiently. - Better Body Awareness
Getting used to basic calisthenics movements gives children a better understanding of their body and its motion. As a result, they calculate what they are and aren’t capable of a lot more accurately – preventing them from doing stupid things that get them hurt! - Burns Calories And Speeds Metabolism
As mentioned above, calisthenics is very intense, so it demands significant energy. As a result, calisthenics increases the rate at which they process food, helping to keep fat levels low. This lowers the risk of child obesity. - Provides kids with overall fitness
As well as relative strength, calisthenics improves endurance – cardiovascular and muscular. By performing calisthenics young it equips children with a high fitness level if they want to join any sports clubs or other physical extracurricular activities. Lots of kids benefit from this – especially because they change their favorite sport daily!
What Are The Best Bodyweight Exercises For Kids
Children should always participate in the most basic calisthenics exercises. Moves like a bodyweight squat, calf raise, and sit-ups are best as they aren’t harsh on the bones but still burn calories and encourage muscle hypertrophy.
However, there is one best calisthenics exercise any kid can do. It’s playing outside. Let us explain…
You can break down most of kids’ playtime into basic calisthenics movements, for example:
- Swinging on tree branches mimics muscle-ups on a pull-up bar.
- Crawling through mud is similar to holding a plank.
- Kids perform handstands, flips, and spins all the time – which are all calisthenics movements too.
So, when you look at it this way, it’s apparent that calisthenics training is the same as getting a kid to play outside!
Playing outside provides you with all the physical benefits of a normal calisthenics exercise but has far more mental benefits. For example, they release endorphins from laughter, kids become more creative by using their imagination, and they’re more in touch with nature.
Nonetheless, we know some kids do want to incorporate pure calisthenics exercise, too! The best exercises they should do include
| Exercise | Muscle Group Used | Tutorial |
|---|---|---|
| Push-Ups | Triceps, Core, Upper Back, and Shoulders | Click here |
| Planks | Abdominals and Obliques | Click here |
| Tricep Dips | Triceps, Shoulders, Chest | Click here |
| Chin-Ups | Triceps, Core, Upper Back and Shoulders | Click here |
| Sit-Ups | Abdominals and Obliques | Click here |
| Crunches | Abdominals and Obliques | Click here |
| Bodyweight Squats | Gluteus, Quadriceps and Hamstrings | Click here |
| Calf Raises | Calfs | Click here |
Is Calisthenics Dangerous For Kids
With all exercise, calisthenics has its own risks. However, as there aren’t any dumbbells, weighted plates, or other heavy equipment being used, the severity of the risks is insignificant. This makes calisthenics a lot safer to train than other training methods.
The main risks associated with calisthenics for kids include:
- Rolling onto an ankle by an improper landing
- Losing grip on a bar and falling (a risk with children who aren’t tall enough to reach the bar themselves)
- Bruises, scratches or calluses from floorwork e.g planks on a wooden floor.
While these risks must be considered seriously, they aren’t as noteworthy as the risks you must consider if a child starts a more extreme training method, such as weight training. This is why we argue calisthenics to be the best training method for children.
As well as the risks calisthenics exclusively presents, you must also consider the generic risks of exercise. For example, dehydration, dizzy spells, or overexhaustion.
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