Kids and Cardio

The U.S Department of Health and Human Services recommends that children get approximately 60 minutes of physical activity every day. Most kids are active enough to meet this goal. But here’s the catch: How much of this “activity” includes truly challenging cardiovascular exercise?

Adults often correlate cardiovascular exercise, or cardio, with weight loss. But the benefits of cardiovascular exercise extend far beyond the outer body. Cardiovascular exercise reduces blood pressure, helps you sleep better, reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, strengthens your heart and lungs, and improves your mood. All these benefits correspond to children as well.

Many of us in the trenches teaching fitness to kids have noticed a lack cardiovascular endurance. Kids are fatiguing way before the desired twenty minutes of moderate aerobic activity. Most parents can attest to the fact that children have no problem conjuring up sudden bursts of energy. But to reap the full benefits of cardiovascular exercise, kids need to sustain their elevated heart rate for a longer period of time. Assuming that the activity is fun and age-appropriate, kids shouldn’t ask to sit down at the first sign of sweat. If you notice this in your child, it’s time to step up the cardio!

“What’s Cardio, Mommy?”
Use the shortened form of the phrase, cardio, when referring to cardiovascular exercise. Explain the definition in simple terms: “Cardio is exercise that gets your heart beating faster. You keep doing cardio for about twenty minutes. That’s about as long as a kids’ show on T.V.”

One of the lessons I teach during my work in elementary schools is how to distinguish cardiovascular exercise from other forms of activity. It’s important that kids understand that waiting on the bench for your turn at bat, for example, is not cardiovascular exercise.

Here are a few fun ways to help your kids define and understand the concept of cardiovascular exercise:

Name It (younger children)
Play a game where you pose the question: Which one is the best cardio workout? Then name two different activities, one of which is obviously more strenuous than the other. For example: Is it swimming or reading a book? Doing the splits or playing tag? Jumping rope or singing a song? The kids choose which of the two is the best cardio. If needed, remind them that the one that gets they’re little hearts beating faster is the answer.

Brainstorm It
Play a brainstorming game where each player gets a turn to name a good form of cardio exercise. Be specific. For example: Biking to Grandma’s house, playing forward in a soccer game, hiking a tall mountain, dancing the Cha Cha Slide ten times. Use a stopwatch or timer, and count how many you can name in 30 seconds.

Journal it
There’s no better way to determine how much cardio you’re getting than to keep a log of all your effort. Help your older kids create their own “Energy Journal.” A checklist system can make exercise seem like a chore. With an energy journal, kids will enjoy writing in all the creative and sometimes wacky ways they got in their cardio workout. Chasing the boys on the playground during the entire lunch recess? That counts! Click here to print a sample Energy Journal.

Do it!
Of course the best way to teach your kids the concept of cardio is to do it with them. Make sure to choose fun activities that don’t require waiting for your turn.

It’s true that a little activity is better than no activity. Overweight and normally sedentary kids should simply strive to be active in some way each day. But for improved athletic endurance, a strong heart and lungs, and overall health, cardio is the key!