In a previous post, I share 6 reasons why you should master bodyweight movements. One of these reasons is Teachability. Once you know how to do the flagship bodyweight movements, you can teach them to and perform them alongside your children.

In this post, I want to take Teachability one step further and apply it in a workout that strengthens your core by using your kids as additional weight. The following exercise session is a 10 minute Ab workout with your kids, which allows your kids to utilize you as a jungle gym while you are strengthening your Abs and lower back. 

I did this workout a few months ago when my wife was getting herself ready for a wedding. My three year old daughter, per usual, was running around our hotel room like Max from “Where the Wild Things Are“, and my wife needed 10-15 minutes of uninterrupted time. And I wanted to do a quick workout before the wedding activities began.

So to solve both problems, I invited my daughter to help me with a core strengthening workout and made it a game for her. And she absolutely loved it.

The Core

Your core is made up of several muscle groups in your midsection and lower back. A strong core supports and strengthens all types of movement, whether you are an athlete playing on the field, a young man helping a friend move or a dad playing with his kids. Strengthening your core should be an integral part of your exercise routine, and the following workout will target these muscle groups in your core:

• Lower/Middle/Upper Abs
• Obliques
• Lower Back

10 Minute Ab Workout With Your Kids

Complete the circuit 3x. Rest for 30 seconds between each circuit. For best results, perform this workout 2-3x a week for 4 weeks. 

• Planks: 30 seconds
  • Child Location: holding onto your back.
• Reverse Crunches: 30 seconds.
  • For the Reverse Crunch variation, click the link and scroll down to the regression section. 
  • Child Location: holding onto your shins. 
• Side Planks: 30 second holds (each side)
  • For the Side Plank variation, click the link and scroll down to the progression section.
  • Child Location: holding onto your sides.
• Prone Cobras: 30 second holds
  • Child Location: holding onto your back.

Training Your Children in Godliness

As I look at my own daughter, I treasure these fun activities with her. But as I did this routine with her in that hotel room, I was struck by the fact that she will eventually be too big to climb up and do these types of workouts with me. She is only three, but while the days are long the years are short. The clock is ticking. 

It’s with this sense of urgency that I need to be reminded of Paul’s encouragement to Timothy as Timothy holds the line in Ephesus amongst opposition in the church:

“… train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way…”  
(1 Timothy 4:7b-8a)

 

We should teach and train our children up in bodily-ness. We ought to show and teach them what the “some value” is that Paul is speaking about. We should enjoy doing goofy workout routines with them that shows them how to take care of their bodies.

But with even more zeal, we need to teach and train our children up in godliness. While they are young and in our homes, we ought to continually pray for and learn how to cultivate godly character in them by teaching them God’s truth and demonstrating it for them in a life of faith and conviction in Christ.

To use our Ab workout as a metaphor, we should let our kids climb up all over our faith as we train ourselves up and train them up in godliness.