A few weeks ago I talked about why I never "forced" my kids to train.... until now.
Go read that first... I'll wait. It will give some insight into where our head is at regarding our daughter's training, athletic career and mindset.
We've had days where she says, "I don't want to train today" or "I'm too tired." I've had moments of wanting to compromise with her, or tell her she can do it later, but in the end we just stick to our plan of getting it done first thing in the morning.
She completed 4 weeks of training, most weeks getting in 3 days (some only 2 due to not being with us). Below is the exact workout she completed. Keep in mind that even though she's a "gym kid" that grew up around this stuff and has done it on and off, she is 12, still a beginner, and very lanky with not a lot of muscle.
DAY 1
Warm-ups
Med ball slams x5
Med ball underhand throws x5
Inchworms x5
REPEAT 3 rounds
Strength
DB Bench press 3x10
Standing band row 3x10
Lunges holding Med ball 3x20 steps
Glute bridges 3x20
Jumping jack pushups x10
Goblet box squat x15
Battle ropes x20
Stir the pot on ball x20
REPEAT 3 rounds
DAY 2
Warm-ups
Med ball slams x5
Med ball underhand throws x5
Inchworms x5
REPEAT 3 rounds
Strength
BB Squat 3x10
Glute bridges feet on box 3x10
Incline Pullups 3x10
DB Shoulder press 3x10
Backward sled dragging x down and back
Pullups x5
Lateral raises x10
Side planks x30 sec each
REPEAT 3 rounds
Why I Chose These Exercises...
While she has good body awareness and has done many of these movements before, I wanted the exercises to be relatively similar on day 1 and 2 so we can continue to perfect certain movement patterns. I also didn't want to have a drastically different workout to where she felt lost and confused. After a week or so on the program, she was off on her own doing it solo.
If you have a young athlete you'd like to introduce strength training to, give this a shot and let me know how they like it!
