Stretching exercises for children of different ages

Stretching exercises for children are an integral part of a child’s physical development. The configuration of the initial basic complex must be determined and compiled by a certified specialist based on:

full medical examination data,
age,
level of physical fitness.

Further adjustments are made by a personal trainer with simultaneous control measurements from a medical professional.

Classification of stretching for children

According to the method and nature of the impact, exercises are divided into four main groups.

Static. Gradual stretching of one or more muscles at a slow pace.
Dynamic. Stretching a specific muscle group at an accelerated pace.
Ballistic. Swing movements performed with high amplitude and extreme range.
Proprioceptive. Stimulation of neuromuscular activity through alternate relaxation and contraction. Designed to work antagonist muscles.

Tips for beginners

The learning process will go faster if you take into account the recommendations of experienced musicians:

You should exercise for 20-30 minutes in the morning and evening. Having learned one technique, you should not forget about it, but practice it regularly.
It is better to train little by little, but every day. Try to perform each technique at least once. If possible, perform a set of exercises at once.
There's no need to rush. At first, speed is not the main thing. First you need to achieve a clean game.
You need to master the material gradually, starting with the first combination. As soon as it starts to work out, you can move on to the next task.
It is important to take care of your hands. If you feel pain, you should stop exercising. It is advisable to start training with warming up your fingers. For example, squeeze and then unclench your fingers several times. Twirl the round object in your hand. Clasping your hands, extend them with your palms forward.

All exercises are universal. You can start learning to play any type of guitar (acoustic, bass, electric guitar) with them. You can take them as a basis and come up with your own combinations in order to work out only the elements that cause difficulties.

Methodology

Before stretching, you should warm up your muscles with a light warm-up in the form of running, squats, jumping rope, swinging your arms and legs. The duration of the warm-up is determined individually, according to the age and physical characteristics of the child, but no more than 15-20 minutes.

Each stretching exercise is carried out in 4 stages:

initial position,
stretching,
exit from the stretch,
interval pause.

During execution, the pulse should be smooth, well-filled, and breathing should be calm. The movement begins with inhalation. Exhale slowly while stretching. The main indicator of positive dynamics is the absence of pain during and after classes.

Description of the training program

The trainer did everything to make yoga as understandable and accessible as possible. However, the training will not be too easy .

The yogamix program consists of the following workouts:

classical asanas;
strength exercises;
dynamic yoga;
working out the abdominal muscles;
stretching;
breathing exercises.

If you do all these 7 workouts, your body will work comprehensively. The balance of such a program is ensured by the alternation of load intensity and training styles. Consequently, the body will improve without overloading.

Please note that each day of the week has its own workout:

Monday - basic exercises. It will take you 30 minutes to complete the basics. This is a gentle workout that will give you a moderate workout, making it great for beginners. The whole point of the lesson is to form correct posture, as well as to align the spine.
Tuesday - strength training. She should spend about 50 minutes. All actions are aimed at increasing strength and endurance. During the class you will use only your own body weight, without weights.
Wednesday - flexibility exercises, they will take about 50 minutes to complete. With their help, you can significantly improve joint mobility and body flexibility.
Thursday is a class for general tone. This is a dynamic program that will be especially useful for people who are overweight or lead a sedentary lifestyle.
Friday - body stretching. It should be performed for 45 minutes. This activity involves performing static stretching and staying in asanas for a long time. You should stay in one asana for 1 to 3 minutes. This way, you will strengthen your muscles and make your ligaments elastic.
Saturday - exercises are aimed at balance, you should practice for an hour. Thanks to this training, you will learn to maintain balance and also listen to your feelings during training.
Sunday is a relaxation activity that should last about 30 minutes. This type of sports activity will help relieve stress and fatigue, and you will also be able to relax your back, lower back and neck. Remember that proper relaxation is the key to a healthy back.

Age characteristics

There are no age restrictions for children's stretching. Moreover, the sooner a child starts regular classes, the more benefits they will bring.

The exception is specialized exercises intended for sports and choreography. Professional-type stretching is carried out only under the supervision of an experienced trainer.

3-4 years

How to stretch a child of primary preschool age? Up to 4 years of age, it is advisable to conduct classes in a playful way - this will form and consolidate the interest necessary for systematic training.

The warm-up phase begins with jumping rope. Among other things, a jump rope is an excellent tool for developing coordination of movements. This is followed by 8-10 (no more) squats. It is recommended to finish the warm-up by bending forward on straight legs.

“Butterfly flies” is an exercise for eversion and stretching of the hip joints. While sitting, pull your legs towards your pelvis and bring your feet together. Make smooth “swings” with your arms and bent legs 5-6 times.

“A butterfly sits on a leaf” - in the same starting position, gently press your hands on your knees, pressing them to the floor.

“The butterfly is sleeping” - without changing the position of your legs, stretch your arms forward and press your body to the floor. You can help your child by lightly pressing his knees to the floor. If the backrest is a wheel, try gently pressing it to level it.

"Frog". Lie on your stomach, turn your head to the side and rest on your arms bent at the elbows. Tighten your legs, bending them at the knees, as high as possible. Hold the pose for 10-20 seconds.

"Swing". Lying on your stomach, bend your legs. Wrap your palms tightly around your ankles and slowly lift your legs (pull them towards your head), carefully bend over (5-10 seconds).

5-6 years

In children aged 5 and 6 years, the joint apparatus, subject to regular training, is already fully formed and the required level of elasticity has been achieved. Therefore, the complex includes more complex stretches, including longitudinal and transverse splits.

Working out triceps and biceps. Stand up straight. Bringing your right hand over your shoulder, reach the area between the shoulder blades, while simultaneously pressing the elbow of your right hand with the other hand. Repeat 5-6 times, changing hands.
Pectoral muscles. Pull your hands back and lock them together. Slightly arching, raise your joined hands to the highest possible point.
Stretching the muscles of the back and lower back. Get on your knees. Sit down, pressing your heels to your pelvis. Stretching your arms forward, bend over, trying to reach the maximum point of tension.
Working out the hip muscles. Attach an elastic bandage or gymnastic elastic tape to the feet. Lie on your back. Raise your legs using the tape to a right angle.
Quadriceps. In a standing position, bend your leg. Holding your foot with your hand, pull up to the limit.
Calf muscles. Toe stand. Fixation in lifting for 10 seconds.
Feet. When sitting, your back is straight. Pull your feet with your toes towards you. The basic complex also includes complicated exercises such as “butterfly”, “frog”, “swing”, etc.

7-8 years

The ages of 7 years and 8 years are characterized by an increase in the mobility of the bone joints of the skeleton. The joint apparatus is formed, the ligaments have acquired the necessary degree of elasticity. Starting from this period, the training plan includes exercises from all four groups of stretches from static to proprioceptive.

Leg-split

We have a detailed article on how to teach a child to do the splits. Graduality and consistency are the main conditions for effective learning. At home, it is better to start by mastering the technique of longitudinal twine.

In a sitting position, extend your legs forward and spread to the sides. Keeping your back straight, bend deeply forward. Wrap your hands around the top of your foot and hold the pose for 10 seconds. Straighten up.
Stand up, spread your legs wider than shoulder width and do several springing actions. The body is straight.
Feet wider than shoulders, toes pointing to the sides. Lean forward and place your hands on the floor. Fixation in a pose – 10 seconds.

Attention! Classes are held only after warming up! The nature of movements, quantity and degree of difficulty vary depending on the age and level of physical fitness of the child.

Exercises for the right hand

Most self-taught players make a lot of mistakes in the early stages of learning (the most common is playing by finger-picking using only one finger).

Guitar exercises for the right hand

Ideally, all fingers except the little finger should be used (although there are exceptions).

Exercise 1. “Swing”

First of all, we distribute the fingers along the strings: the thumb will control the sixth string, the index finger will control the third, and the middle and ring fingers, respectively, will control the second and first.

We are trying to play the intro of the famous Metallica ballad called Nothing Else Matters (this is not difficult even for a person who has picked up the instrument for the first time). Thus, we play the strings in the following sequence:

Note : You can play not only the sixth string with your thumb, but also the fourth and fifth strings. So experiment with this. You can also periodically change the sequence of strings and, for example, play like this: 6 3 1 2 3 1 2 3. At this time, the left hand does not pinch anything, that is, open strings are played. Of course, you can experiment and play some simple chords.

Exercise 2. “Waltz”

We distribute the fingers in the same way as in the previous exercise.

The game consists of alternating the bass strings and plucking the three lower strings, which is done simultaneously with three fingers.

Independent studies

Stretching for children also provides undoubted benefits to those who are not involved in regular sports or choreography. The advantages of doing simple exercises at home for beginners:

Prevention of injuries.
Improving coordination of movements.
Prevention and/or treatment of scoliosis.
Strengthening the musculoskeletal system.
Regulating the functioning of the genitourinary system.
Improving the functions of the digestive organs.
Development of the respiratory organs.

It is better to schedule classes at home to coincide with morning exercises - this will make it easier for your child to instill this useful skill. Beginners are recommended to start with simple exercises in the form of bending, swinging and stretching. Over time, difficulty and intensity can be increased.

Important! Stretching can be included in home exercises only after a medical examination. Since in the presence of an intervertebral hernia, sprain and other serious health problems, it can cause harm to the body.

Basic exercises for beginners

You should start with simple guitar exercises for beginners. They train coordination and playing speed:

The first technique should be mastered before moving on to more complex tasks. They work with one string. First, using the four fingers of the left hand, the sound is extracted from the first four frets (metal saddles). Then, moving one position forward, repeat the exercise. Having reached the end, they move back. And then they continue playing using other strings.
The next technique begins in the same way. But after playing the first four positions, they move to the bottom string and repeat the actions. On the last one, mirror movements are made in the opposite direction - the finger that was the first becomes the fourth. Without mastering this combination, it is difficult to train further, so it is advisable to be able to do it in both directions quickly, without stopping.
The peculiarity of the trick is the extraction of sound through the fret. First, clamp the first and third, and then the second and fourth. Having played on one string, they move lower. The same steps are repeated in the opposite direction. This combination is more difficult, but improves coordination and increases control over the bar.
When performing the following combination, the sound is first extracted from the third and fourth fret nuts, then from the first and second. In this way they advance to the bottom string and return back backwards. Another option: perform the same actions, but when returning back, do not change the sequence of frets.
The basic training ends with a more difficult task. When performed, the standard sequence of frets is played, gradually moving down. First, four frets are played with the top string. Then the first is played by the second, and the rest - by the top. After the first two frets go to the second, and the next two to the first. This way they get to the bottom string.

Myth No. 2. Yoga is a religion.

Yoga is not a religious, but a spiritual system, or a system of spiritual self-improvement. Yoga is practiced by Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and atheists. Yoga does not impose or require any religious ideas or preferences; on the contrary, it leads to clarity of mind, forces a person to think, analyze his actions and intentions, question imposed views and study. At its core, yoga is close to science rather than religion, since yoga was created by ancient sages (rishis), who, through research, trial, error and observation, developed and systematized exercises that help a person improve his body and mind, grow spiritually and become more harmonious and balanced.

Why stretch your muscles?

Many people do stretching, but not everyone realizes the real benefits of these exercises, which include the following:

provides muscle flexibility, which reduces the risk of injury;
increases the elasticity of joints and ligaments, reducing pain when performing exercises;
increases blood flow to the muscles, warming them up;
accelerates recovery after physical activity;
relax tense muscles;
improves coordination of movements.

Stretching is useful both for athletes involved in strength sports and as a separate type of physical activity.

Pro Tips

Professionals recommend working on stretching gradually. This is the only way to achieve results and avoid injuries. Progress will be individual, depending on the level of training, age, and individual characteristics of the body. Only everything together will help achieve results.

Trainers working in the direction of “stretching” point out the need to stretch not only the legs, but the whole body. It is not the splits that are important, but the overall flexibility of the body and the mobility of the joints. Working on one split, it is impossible to achieve grace and health.

Katerina Buida, coach

A well-known stretching coach on the Internet advises approaching the issue consistently. An important part of the process is warming up, which will avoid injuries during the stretching process. The body must be properly warmed up.

It also indicates the inadmissibility of unnecessary pain. Yes, there will be some discomfort and slight pain in the muscles, but it should not be excessive, especially joint pain is not allowed.

Ksenia Litvinova, coach

Pilates trainer Ksenia Litvinova points out that stretching is best combined with other physical exercises, depending on the athlete’s goals. In any case, it will be useful. Athletes of strength sports, fitness enthusiasts, and athletes of other disciplines do stretching.

It would be optimal to do it at the end of classes, but a small warm-up and stretching can be done before the main physical activity. On rest days, you can perform additional stretching training to consolidate the results, but avoid significant stress.

Olga Kapiton, trainer

The fitness and stretching trainer points out the fundamental importance of stretching, especially for girls and women. And it's not just about the splits and attractive flexibility. The result of such training is important here - the body is prepared for strength training, the risk of injury is reduced, and blood circulation to its individual parts is improved.

Irina Kutyina. Yoga for Beginners

Irina Kutyina’s complex includes such basic asanas as:

mountain pose (Tadasana),
tree pose (Vrikshasana),
lateral extension (Parshvakonasana),
warrior pose II (Virabhadrasana II),
plank pose (Kumbhakasana),
downward-facing dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) and other asanas from the classic complex for beginning practitioners.

The lesson is quite dynamic, you can either follow the teacher and perform all the poses at a fast pace, transitioning from one to another, or work at your own pace.

Video: Sculptor of your body

Hatha yoga for beginners with Olga Bulanova

Hatha yoga is a basic variation of yoga as physical education. According to Olga Bulanova's video course, you will learn how to properly tune in to practice using warm-up exercises and breathing techniques. Afterwards, Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation) is performed - this is a classic warm-up that prepares the body for the main asanas. You will master standing balances, basic simple standing poses (downward-facing dog, standing obtuse angle, warrior pose II, triangle pose, twisted extended side pose (Parivritta Parshvakonasana), you will be able to strengthen your arms to perform hand balances, then there are sitting poses, deflections with compensation. The cycle ends with strengthening the abs and inverted poses. Relaxation is performed according to tradition in Shavasana.

Video lessons: Hatha yoga for beginners with Olga Bulanova. The very first poses, the best poses for women

You will also learn how to make asanas easier using various devices: blocks, belts.

Yoga for beginners with Ekaterina Buida

Ekaterina Buida is another blogger in our selection. She has a lot of quite interesting videos about yoga, since her lessons are her own program, which is a kind of hybrid of regular fitness, classical yoga and dance. She also teaches yoga for pregnant women and new mothers.

Try some simple lessons with Katerina.

Video: Malasana III / Garland Pose III / Yoga for Beginners

In this short video tutorial, you will learn a very interesting pose to open the inner thigh - one of the variations of the garland pose with a lock behind your back.

This asana is very useful for women's and men's health and works in several directions at once: it improves the flexibility of the arms and hands, stretches the inner thigh area, and teaches you to work with balance.

Video: Yoga for women's health / yoga for beginners

This complex is especially useful for women's health and is suitable for girls of any age. However, the lesson also helps to achieve internal balance, so it can be done regardless of gender.

You will master such poses as: simple pose (Sukhasana), crow pose I or garland I (Malasana I), garland pose II or crow II (Malasana II), garland pose or crow III (Malasana III), bound angle pose (Baddha Konasana ), extended angle pose (Upavishta Konasana I) and some others.

The whole complex perfectly stretches the thigh muscles and, if performed regularly, will help you do the splits.

Video: Sukhasana / comfortable pose / yoga for beginners

Sukhasana or comfortable pose is one of the main asanas for a beginner practitioner who has not yet mastered the lotus pose (Padmasana). It is here that you will perform many breathing exercises, learn to meditate and relax. You definitely need to master it, and this video explains very well how to do it.

Myth No. 9. Yoga is only for women.

The truth is that all people, not just women, are in search of inner harmony and peace, want to avoid illness and live a healthy, happy life. Yoga offers something for anyone interested in physical, mental or spiritual development, and is not a discipline just for women or just for men. Many men (including athletes) practice yoga regularly, and they have found that it gives them great benefits in all areas of their lives. Men come to our yoga center to study both in Yoga classes for beginners 1 and 2, and in more advanced levels - Basic class, Intensive class, Classes for yoga teachers. Body stiffness can be overcome by regular yoga practice, and Healthy Back classes can be extremely effective in relieving back and neck pain, improving sleep, and getting rid of stress.

Myth No. 3. Yoga requires vegetarianism.

Yoga does not impose or demand anything from the practitioner. There are some recommendations (including nutrition) that help speed up progress in practice and increase its effectiveness. It is recommended to exclude opiates, intoxicating and intoxicating substances, as they reduce awareness, dull the personality and take away a huge amount of energy; instead of activity, apathy and depression appear, which is contrary to the essence of yoga. Yoga classes lead to mental clarity and energy. Nevertheless, a person who practices yoga can eat meat or refuse it, but not through self-abuse or willpower, but simply by listening to the needs of his body.