For the first time in a while there was no football this past Sunday. Difficult. It was especially tough for me because I rarely enjoy any other sport (though basketball is once again interesting thanks to the emergence of NY Knick Jeremy Lin).
I miss football. If your youth football athletes are like me, they are probably going through a similar football withdrawal. Parents should keep their kids active during this period. Playing other sports help youth football kids stay physically fit and prevent lazy days which is great. If playing a winter sport isn’t a possibility, I suggest keeping your child physically fit with 3 golden football off-season exercises. Simple to perform, highly effective.
Here they are:
- Pushups – First lady Michelle Obama was recently on the Ellen show promoting physical fitness. During the segment she and Ellen competed against each other in a serious push up contest. It was encouraging to see first lady Obama promote the pushup, she understands the importance of physical fitness for kids. Pushups are simple and are great for strength building and for building a strong foundation.
- Planks – This is a personal favorite of mine. When I’m in the gym, I enjoy the challenge of working my core. Planks are perfect for strengthening your core with little effort. Just a matter of getting into pushup position, leaning on forearms, for an extended time. The hard part is staying up!
- Jumprope – This is also one of my all-time favorite exercises and perfect for building endurance. I enjoy this exercise because it’s so much more fun than running on a treadmill in a gym. Also, images of Rocky prepping for a title fight against Apollo Creed pop into my head. Your kids will probably recognize their favorite UFC mixed martial arts fighter doing this exercise. Jumping rope is highly beneficial for youth football players- a great way to improve agility, footwork and even coordination.
We have developed a mildly complex formula for the youth football off-season. It’s as follows:
O= F-V
(A golden Off-season = Fitness – Limited Video Game play).
