Playground Workout: Using Common Playground Equipment for a Challenging Workout

Kids love to visit the playground, but why should they be the only ones having fun?  Below are exercise that turn common playground equipment into a challenging workout for all levels.  Yes, people will stare, but only because you are tackling what they wish that they could, so smile and invite them to join you on the next set.

Raised Platform (e.g. step, base of a slide, balance apparatus)

Step-ups

Keep your body upright .

Step-ups have been proven to be one of the most effective exercises for the glutes.  The higher the step, the more challenging the work.  The maximum height you should choose will allow you to stand flat-footed with your supporting leg straight with the raised foot on the platform so that you form a 90 degree bend at the knee.  Beginners should choose a lower platform.
Exercise: Face the platform with one foot on the ground and one on the platform. Keeping your knee over your heel, squeeze through the glute of the
raised leg to bring your body to standing position on the platform.  The moving leg will pull forward to the front of the body (see left) and come to balance, which will challenge your core.  Stabilize, then, with control, lower to the starting position.  Complete 10-15 on one leg and then switch to the other.  Strive for 2-3 sets.
Adding to the challenge: As you get stronger, choose a higher platform, up to the safe max height described above, or at the starting position, you can bend the back leg and rise on to the ball of the foot to start the exercise from a lunge (see right).

Push-ups
Skip the "girlie" push-up. The same platform can be used to assist in strengthening your body to do
a push-up on your toes.  The lower the platform is, the harder the work.
Exercise: Place your hands on the platform.  Walk your feet back to where you are standing on your toes and your hips are in line with your body, forming a straight line from the base of your skull to your heels.  You shoulders should be directly over your wrists.  Lower your body until a 90 degree bend is formed at your elbows and then push smoothly to the starting position.  Find a platform sufficiently high to allow you to do 6-8 for beginners and 10-12 for those more advanced.  Strive for 2-3 sets.
Build up to it: If you are already on the ground and knocking out push-ups from your toes, try placing your feet on the raised platform and hands on the ground.

Dips

Your chin should be level to help relax your shoulders
away from your ears. 

Wave goodbye to your underarm waddle with this tricep toner.   
Exercise: Sit on your hands with fingers bent over the edge of the platform.  Shift your weight off the platform and move your hands closer so that they are directly behind your shoulders.  The further your feet are from your body, the harder the work (a 90 degree bend at the knee will be less difficult than straight legs and resting on your heels).  Lower your body to form a 90 degree bend (see right) with your elbow and then push to re-straighten the arm.  Make sure that you feel the platform brush your back with each dip.  Strive for 2-3 sets of 10-15.

Swing
Plank with Oblique Contraction

Maintain a strong plank throughout the move and
ensure that your hips face the ground.

Exercise: With your back to a swing, go into plank so that your feet are under the seat.  Lift one leg and place your foot, top side down, in the seat.  Hold the free leg beside it to form plank.  Bend at the knee and hip to move knee out to the side of your body and toward your shoulder to contract your oblique.  Strive to complete 2-3 sets of 8-10 on both sides.
Adding to the challenge: As you bring your knee to your shoulder, go down for a push-up.

Single-Leg Squat
Combine core stability with serious glute work in this highly effective squat.
Exercise: Stand a leg's length or less in front of the swing with your back to it.  Lift leg behind you to rest your foot, laces down, on the swing.  Keeping your chest up, slowly lower yourself on one leg, pushing your hips back, so that your knee does not go past your toe.  At the base of the move, contract your glutes to return to standing with your foot still on the swing.  Strive for 2-3 sets of 10-12 on each leg.
Build up to it: Make balance harder and force more work into the glute by lifting your toes and balancing on the heel.



Monkey Bars
Hanging Leg Lift
Put your shoulders under pressure while you work your lower abdominals.
Exercise: With arms extended overhead, grip the bar.  Lift bent legs toward chest.  Be careful not to use momentum.  Strive for two sets of 8-10.  
Making it more difficult: straighten legs during lift toward chest.

See-Saw
Plyometric See-Saw Squat
The see-saw is a great tool for squats because it naturally positions your legs, at near-shoulder width to bend in front of your body, while keeping your weight back.  It is also great practice for learning how to control your landing.  Grab your child for this one and get ready for a challenge.  (Note: This move involves jumping; if you have never done plyometrics or jump training or have concerns, you should complete the move without your feet leaving the ground.)
Exercise: Squeezing your inner thigh to keep your knees forward, contract your glutes and push off the balls of your feet.  When on your way back down, use your muscles to stop the see-saw with your legs at 90 degrees.  Hold for a moment at the base of the move and then push off again; the seat should never touch the ground.  Strive for 2-3 sets of 10-15 squats.
Adding to the challenge: Make the move harder for you and more interesting for your child by changing how hard you push off; the smaller and faster the rhythm, completed by only barely rising out of the 90 degree bend will keep your muscles under pressure and add to the burn.

Parents frequently disappear to the gym or on a run for their exercise, so kids never see mom and dad exercising.  Working out in front of them sets a great example for being active and allows them to get involved, giving them positive associations with physical activity, if only because they got to do it with you.

Calcium for Kids Who Don't Like Milk

The old ad for milk was not wrong; it really does do a body good, as it is loaded with calcium.  In young people, calcium aids in the development of strong bones, which will continue to strengthen throughout adolescence until they begin to decline in young adulthood.  For females, it is even more important for bones to reach their maximum potential due to the risk of osteoporosis later in life.  But if your child refuses to drink milk, how can you ensure that their diet contains adequate calcium?

First, understand how much calcium they should be consuming.  For children 1-3 years of age, it is suggested that they consume 700mg/day, 4-8 year-olds 1,000mg/day, and 9-18 year-olds is 1,300mg/day.  For those who cannot visualize milligrams, one cup, or eight ounces, of milk contains approximately 300mg of calcium.  On most labels, calcium is given as a percent of the "Daily Value," which is the amount that is recommended that should be included in the healthy diet of an average adult, and, in the case of calcium, is 1,000mg.  Thus the percent given may represent a larger or smaller percentage of what your child actually needs.   

For a child who will not drink one glass of milk, the three to four needed to meet their calcium needs is out of the questions, so parents must help them to consume other foods that contain calcium.  Below is a list of healthy, kid favorites that are also rich in calcium:

50-100mg/ Serving
1 navel orange (60mg)
1 cup of kiwi (60)
1T Parmesan cheese (70)
1/4 cup almonds (72)
1 medium egg (55)

100-200mg/Serving
1 tube of yogurt (100mg)
1 packet instant oatmeal (105)
1 cup Cheerios (114)
1 slice American cheese (165)
1 cup Greek yogurt (180-200)
1 cup broccoli (180)
1 cup white beans (191)
1 Clif Kid Honey Graham Z Bar (200)

300-400mg/serving
1 cup yogurt (300-450mg)
1 cup Kefir (300)
1 cup calcium fortified orange juice (300)

If a child's objection to milk is merely surrounding taste, adding a small amount of chocolate at home may silence the protests and only minimally adds to the calories, whereas store-bought flavored milk is loaded with added sugars.  Cereal will also kick up milk's flavor, so adding a little extra to their cereal bowl may be a mutually agreeable solution.  Depending upon your cereal and how manufacturers add additional nutrients, many may wash off in the milk, so drinking the leftover milk may be the only way to ensure that all of the calcium from the cereal is consumed. 

The intake of calcium is only part of the equation, as it must be absorbed, and common unhealthy habits may be getting in the way.  Smoking, and the consumption of alcohol, sodas, and other caffeinated beverages, all interfere with the way that the body absorbs calcium, as does a lack of Vitamin D.  Vitamin D is contained in many fortified foods and supplements, and naturally, in some fishes and mushrooms, but the best way to ensure adequate amounts is to spend time in the sun.  Far from an endorsement for sun bathing, a fair-skinned person can spend as little as ten minutes in summer, midday sun with arms and legs exposed without sunscreen and produce up to 10,000 international units (IU) of the vitamin (the government currently recommends 200 IU's per day for those under 50 years of age, but scientists believe that may be inadequate).  Those with darker skin may require 15-20 minutes and people with black skin may require up to sixty minutes, but research is ongoing to determine optimal times for the elderly and those with darker skin.

For some parents the calcium battle may not be fought with a young child but an adolescent, and it may be a very small part of the larger war of body image and eating disorders.  Adolescents often perceive of dairy products as being fatty, and it may be one of the first food groups that they cut out of a desire to lose weight.  Offering skim milk, which contains the same amount of calcium as whole milk but with none of the fat may be an option, but at this age, educating them about their body's needs and, for females, the import of calcium with preventing osteoporosis, may be helpful.