If you are looking to keep your children fit and active, creating outdoor exercise stations will help them burn calories and have fun. Do-it-yourself outdoor exercise stations range from outdoor sports stations, such as baseball and football, to traditional pushup and situp stations.
SPORTS STATION
If your child is a fan of popular sports, such as basketball, baseball or football, you can create your own sports exercise station for her. For kids who like football, a football toss station is easy to make yourself. All you need is a tire and a piece of rope. Find a tree with a sturdy branch and thread the rope through the tire and around the tree limb so the tire is suspended. Mark off 5 yards from the tire. Have your child throw a football through the tire from this position several times. As she improves, have her take several steps back before repeating the exercise.
LADDER RUNNING
Ladder running is an intense cardiovascular exercise that you can work on with your child. You can make it yourself by creating the ladder from scratch or simply by drawing a ladder on a sidewalk with chalk or marking it off with tape. Once you have a ladder on the ground to work with, instruct your child to stand at one end. Time your child as he runs through the ladder, instructing him to run straight, alternating feet with each square of the ladder. Next, have him vary his footing as he traverses the ladder, going backwards, sidestepping, skipping, hopping with both feet or any other stepping or jumping patterns you can think of.
JUNGLE GYM EXERCISES
While the jungle gym is often a pre-made piece of exercise equipment, you can use it to create an outdoor exercise station for your kids. A popular jungle gym exercise is pullups. To perform a basic pullup, have your child hang down from the monkey bars with his knees slightly bent. Instruct him to bend at the elbows, lifting his body weight up until his chin reaches the bar. Have him slowly lower himself down, repeating 10 times or until fatigued.
CORE STRENGTHENING STATION
This core strengthening station is designed to help your child strengthen his abdominal muscles, glutes and low back muscles. At this station, you can have your child perform a series of isometric core exercises combined with traditional abdominal exercises such as situps and crunches. To perform an isometric plank, have your child lie down on his stomach with his legs extended and arms at his sides. From here, have him push up onto his forearms, keeping his back straight as he does so. Instruct him to balance on his toes and forearms, holding the position until fatigued.
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