getting elementary-age boys enough exercise

[caedmyn]

I think maybe my boys (the older ones are 6, 9, and 11) would be less wild if they got more exercise.  They play outside for at least two or three hours most days, but that doesn't seem to be enough.  Ideally they'd each run for 15 or 20 minutes before we start school each day, but the sidewalks were already covered with snow and/or ice for half of October, so that's not a very practical idea.  Exercise videos will NOT work--they'll get themselves super wound up and be even more wild.  What else could they do to burn off a lot of energy before we start school each day?  Does exercise later in the day, like swimming or martial arts, carry over to the next day in terms of less wildness/crazy energy?

[EmseB]

Can you get a weight set? It's hard work but not the jumping around like an aerobics video (although you'd probably need an app or youtube video for instruction).

Either that or a mini tramp they could take turns on between school subjects. But I'd do weights if I could, or a more sedate exercise video that used one's own body weight if i couldn't afford weights.

There's also phone apps that offer daily workout routines like a series of situps, pushups, burpees, etc.

[EmseB]

And excercise later in the day does help for overall mental and physical health, but in my personal experience, exercising in the evening doesn't really help me with good morning focus. 

[wendyroo]

I totally get what you mean about getting wound up before school.  I want my boys to burn off energy, but they get out of control so easily and it is very hard, and sometimes simply impossible, for them to re-regulate themselves and calm down enough to get down to work.

I avoid wild and running before school, and instead stick to focused physical exertion.  Anything that requires them to keep tight control over their movements - like yoga, doing a tripod hand stand, holding a plank position, doing a flexed arm hang from a bar, doing a slow stretching routine, etc.

[KungFuPanda]

Can you set up circuits for them?  A chin up bar in a door, a mini trampoline to jog on (or jog in place), and a push of or sit up area.  Then send them to different stations, crank the music, and blow a whistle when it's time to switch.  Or get one of those big foam dice and write different exercises on it.  Have them take turns rolling the dice and they both do what it says.(jumping jacks, push ups, squat thrusts, etc . . .). Call it morning PT and do it for 15-20 minutes before they start school.  

[73349]

Shoveling snow would be ideal, in that it's heavy but not fast/exciting, and gets them fresh air. Would getting each his own manageable-sized shovel work? When you run out of your own sidewalk, they can be neighborhood helpers.

[Pen]

Jump rope. (Individual rope or add big rope if you have enough room and cooperation) Very good exercise per time and space.  A small area can be cleared of ice / snow and it can be done with gloves and warm hats and jackets on.  Can have multiple sessions in a day.   

[hjffkj]

my kids take kung fu twice a week.  But they also practice it every morning for about 20 minutes. 

Other things that work is playing sports with neighborhood kids in the afternoon. It tires them out so they get a solid night sleep and aren't as wound up. Letting them be bounce around while doing school work is something else that works.  DS10 almost always does his seat work standing at a high table bouncing and moving constantly.  The work gets done and my sanity is saved as long as I leave the room or face the other direction while he does it.