Upper Body Strength

Strong upper body muscles (trunk, shoulders, arms, hands) are essential for good posture and necessary to complete school related tasks such as writing, cutting, and manipulating small objects. A child needs a stable base of support and must have the ability to weight bear on his/her upper extremities. Improving a child's muscular strength also increases the strength of bones, ligaments, and tendons.

Endurance

Endurance is the ability to sustain and complete an activity with good quality performance over time. This requires muscles strength and cardiovascular fitness.

Strength and Endurance Activities

• Chores
• Pushing a grocery chart
• Carrying groceries
• Taking out the garbage
• Raking the leaves
• Shoveling snow
• Vacuuming
• Cooking
• Carrying laundry

Games and Activities

• Place heavy items in a wagon or a box and push them along the floor or through an obstacle course
• Go to a playground and use equipment such as the monkey bars, jungle gym, climbing rope, and slides
• Push a playground ball toward targets of rice filled plastic 12 ounce bottles while laying on the floor
• Twister
• Zoom Ball
• Tug-of-war

Fun Ways of Moving

• Bear walk - Start on all fours, move left arm and leg together, then move right arm and leg together, and repeat.
• Bunny hop - Hop with both feet together and hands in front of chest like a rabbit.
• Crab walk - Walk on all fours facing upward.
• Inchworm crawl - Begin on hand and feet facing downward. Walk hands away from feet, the walk feet up to hands and repeat.
• Seal walk - Move along using the floor using the forearms to pull while dragging the feet behind.
• Wheelbarrow walk

Traditional Exercises

• Sit-ups
• Push-ups (can be modified and completed while stabilizing the body on the knees)
• Wall push-ups
• Chair push-ups
• Playing catch with a medicine ball
• Use thera-putty or a digi flex for the hands and fingers
• Jumping jacks
• Jumping rope
• Yoga
• Swimming