Strength exercises by age

Strength exercises for elementary students, ages 6 to 10

16 exercises a 6 to 10 year old can do at home or before practice, from SSTracker's athletic-development library, all with body weight. Each one starts at the age the app opens it.

Right for the age

  • At 6 to 10, strength is body weight only, through games: bear crawls, crab walks, wall push-ups, and sitting down to a chair and standing up. From 9, the bodyweight squat and the hip hinge are taught slowly.
  • No goblet squats or other lifts with a dumbbell or kettlebell at this age at home: the chair sit-and-stand and the bodyweight squat build the same squat shape with body weight alone.
  • Two or three short movement times a week of 15 to 20 minutes is plenty, with free play on most days. Stop if anything hurts.

Strength

Each exercise with its steps, the coach's cue and the safety line. The age is the youngest the app opens it at.

Bear Crawl Trail

From age 6 · 6 min · no equipment

Crawl like a bear on hands and feet along a trail. Builds arm, shoulder and tummy strength through play.

  1. Set a start and finish 10 steps apart.
  2. Get on hands and feet, knees just off the ground.
  3. Crawl forward with a flat back, then backward.
  4. Do 4 trips.

Coaching point: Flat back like a table.

Safety: Good form beats more reps: stop the set when your form slips. Muscles may feel tired; stop if a joint hurts.

Chair Sit-and-Stand

From age 6 · 5 min · sturdy chair or bench

Sit down to a chair slowly and stand up without using your hands. The first step of a good squat.

  1. Stand in front of a sturdy chair, feet hip-width apart.
  2. Reach arms forward and sit back slowly to touch the chair.
  3. Stand up tall without using your hands.
  4. Do 2 rounds of 10.

Coaching point: Slow down, fast up.

Safety: Good form beats more reps: stop the set when your form slips. Muscles may feel tired; stop if a joint hurts.

Crab Walk Path

From age 6 · 6 min · no equipment

Walk like a crab, tummy up, on hands and feet. Builds strong shoulders and hips.

  1. Sit, place hands behind you and feet in front.
  2. Raise your hips off the ground.
  3. Walk forward, backward and sideways along a path.
  4. Do 4 trips of 10 steps.

Coaching point: Hips high like a crab.

Safety: Good form beats more reps: stop the set when your form slips. Muscles may feel tired; stop if a joint hurts.

Wall Push-Up Countdown

From age 6 · 5 min · wall

Push-ups against a wall teach the right shape before ever going to the floor.

  1. Stand an arm's length from a wall with hands at shoulder height.
  2. Bend your elbows to bring your chest toward the wall, body straight.
  3. Push back while counting down from 10.
  4. Do 2 or 3 rounds of 10.

Coaching point: Straight like a board.

Safety: Good form beats more reps: stop the set when your form slips. Muscles may feel tired; stop if a joint hurts.

Bodyweight Squat Pattern

From age 9 · 8 min · no equipment

Learn the body-weight squat with heels down, knees over toes and chest up. The base of lower-body strength.

  1. Feet shoulder-width, toes slightly out.
  2. Push hips back and bend the knees, keeping heels flat.
  3. Go as low as you can with a flat back, then stand up.
  4. Do 3 sets of 8 to 10, slowly.

Coaching point: Knees follow the toes.

Safety: Good form beats more reps: stop the set when your form slips. Muscles may feel tired; stop if a joint hurts.

Stick Hip Hinge

From age 9 · 8 min · broomstick or dowel

Hold a stick along your back and learn to bend from the hips with a flat back. This is the shape of every safe lift from the floor.

  1. Hold a stick along your spine touching head, upper back and tailbone.
  2. Soften the knees and push your hips back.
  3. Keep all three touch points on the stick as you lean forward.
  4. Stand up by squeezing your hips forward; do 3 sets of 8.

Coaching point: Hips back, stick stays on.

Safety: Good form beats more reps: stop the set when your form slips. Muscles may feel tired; stop if a joint hurts.

Incline Push-Up Progression

From age 10 · 8 min · bench, step or sturdy table

Push-ups with hands on a bench, moving lower as you get stronger, until floor push-ups are clean.

  1. Place hands on a bench, body straight from head to heel.
  2. Lower your chest to the bench with elbows at about 45 degrees.
  3. Push back up without the hips sagging.
  4. Do 3 sets of 8; move to a lower surface when all are clean.

Coaching point: Body like a plank, elbows in.

Safety: Good form beats more reps: stop the set when your form slips. Muscles may feel tired; stop if a joint hurts.

Split Squat Basics

From age 10 · 8 min · no equipment

With one foot forward and one back, lower straight down and up. Builds single-leg strength and knee control.

  1. Step one foot forward into a long stance.
  2. Lower your back knee toward the ground, trunk tall.
  3. Keep the front knee over the middle of the foot.
  4. Push back up; do 2 sets of 8 each leg.

Coaching point: Straight down, straight up.

Safety: Good form beats more reps: stop the set when your form slips. Muscles may feel tired; stop if a joint hurts.

Jump, land and throw

Landing comes first: learn to land softly and freeze before jumping far or high. Keep the number of jumps low.

Freeze-Landing Jumps

From age 6 · 6 min · soft ground

Jump forward and freeze on landing like a statue. The first step of every jumping skill is a safe landing.

  1. Stand with feet hip-width apart.
  2. Swing your arms and jump forward a small distance.
  3. Land on both feet, knees bent and over your toes, and freeze for 3 seconds.
  4. Do 10 jumps.

Coaching point: Quiet feet, frozen statue.

Safety: Land softly on grass or a mat, knees over toes, never caving in. Keep the number of jumps low. Stop if knees, shins or ankles hurt.

Hopscotch Course

From age 6 · 10 min · chalk or tape

Classic hopscotch builds springy hops on one and two feet, plus balance and rhythm.

  1. Draw a hopscotch grid.
  2. Toss a marker into a square.
  3. Hop and jump through the grid, skipping the square with the marker.
  4. Play 10 turns, taking turns with a family member.

Coaching point: Light and bouncy.

Safety: Land softly on grass or a mat, knees over toes, never caving in. Keep the number of jumps low. Stop if knees, shins or ankles hurt.

Puddle Jumping

From age 6 · 8 min · chalk, rope or towels

Pretend lines or towels are puddles and jump over them with two feet, landing quietly like a cat.

  1. Lay out 5 or 6 "puddles" of different sizes.
  2. Jump over each one with two feet.
  3. Land quietly with bent knees.
  4. Go through the course 4 times, making the puddles wider if it feels easy.

Coaching point: Swing the arms, land like a cat.

Safety: Land softly on grass or a mat, knees over toes, never caving in. Keep the number of jumps low. Stop if knees, shins or ankles hurt.

Soft Ball Push Toss

From age 6 · 8 min · large soft ball or beach ball, partner or wall

Push a big soft ball from your chest to a partner or wall as hard as you can. Teaches using legs and arms together.

  1. Hold the ball at your chest with both hands.
  2. Bend your knees a little, then push up and out.
  3. Push the ball to a partner or a wall.
  4. Do 15 pushes.

Coaching point: Legs, then arms, push!

Safety: Throw only into clear space or a solid wall, with nobody in the way. Use a soft or light ball.

Broad Jump and Hold

From age 10 · 10 min · soft ground, tape measure (optional)

Jump forward as far as you can with control and hold the landing. Distance only counts if you stick it.

  1. Stand with toes at a line.
  2. Swing your arms back, then forward as you jump out.
  3. Land on both feet and hold for 2 seconds without stepping.
  4. Do 3 sets of 3 with full rest; note your best stuck jump.

Coaching point: Swing, jump, stick.

Safety: Land softly on grass or a mat, knees over toes, never caving in. Keep the number of jumps low. Stop if knees, shins or ankles hurt.

Light Ball Chest Throws

From age 10 · 10 min · light ball of 1 to 2 kg (2 to 4 lb), solid wall

Throw a light medicine ball from your chest into a wall with a step. Builds whole-body power safely.

  1. Stand 2 to 3 yards from a solid wall.
  2. Hold the ball at your chest, step forward and push it hard into the wall.
  3. Catch it on the rebound or let it drop.
  4. Do 3 sets of 6.

Coaching point: Step and push through the wall.

Safety: Throw only into clear space or a solid wall, with nobody in the way. Use a soft or light ball.

Snap-Down to Stick

From age 10 · 8 min · soft ground

Rise onto your toes with arms up, then snap down into a quick athletic landing. The safest way to learn to absorb force.

  1. Stand tall and rise onto your toes with arms high.
  2. Quickly drop your arms and hips into a quarter squat on flat feet.
  3. Hold the landing: knees over toes, chest up, for 2 seconds.
  4. Do 3 sets of 5.

Coaching point: Snap and stick, quiet feet.

Safety: Land softly on grass or a mat, knees over toes, never caving in. Keep the number of jumps low. Stop if knees, shins or ankles hurt.

Springy Ankle Pogo Series

From age 10 · 6 min · soft ground or mat

Small, quick, springy hops using stiff ankles. Builds the bounce in running and jumping.

  1. Stand tall with soft knees and arms relaxed.
  2. Hop on the balls of your feet with quick, small bounces.
  3. Keep the knees almost still; the ankles do the work.
  4. Do 3 sets of 10 hops with rest.

Coaching point: Hot ground, quick bounce.

Safety: Land softly on grass or a mat, knees over toes, never caving in. Keep the number of jumps low. Stop if knees, shins or ankles hurt.

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