Playground Ideas For The Budding Athlete

Here are a few great ideas for you to consider when choosing to build a playground that encourages athleticism.

Do you have a future Pro Linebacker at home? Has your child outgrown his current swing set? Is your child shy and you’d like to help instill a sense of self confidence in them. If you answered Yes to any of these questions, then this post is for you. Having any one, or a combo of, these playground ideas in your backyard will not only be great encouragement to your child but will also help develop stamina and agility. They can enhance their athletic, social and emotional skills as well.

The American Ninja Warrior contest has been on TV for around ten years now and has sparked interest and imagination in young children. No longer are they content to go up and down a slide. Kids today want to jump from obstacle to obstacle and swing on ropes over pits of mud. They want to hurdle over the picnic table, the lawn furniture and their little brother as they shout ‘Parkour.’ Encourage that spirit with a few additions to the backyard.

Fitness Course and Circuit Course

Fitness Course and Circuit Course: The only real difference here is the layout. Your fitness course can all be connected together and used in whatever way the child likes. The circuit is meant for each element to be used one a a time, with several repetitions at each station. The Mayo Clinic states Fitness training balances five elements of good health. Make sure your routine includes aerobic fitness, strength training, core exercises, balance training, and flexibility and stretching. When designing a course include activities such as balance beams, an overhead ladder, a climbing wall, a bar for pull ups, maybe one for push ups. If you are going for a natural look much of this can be made from tree trunks and branches and even large stones. You can see some cool DIY courses on Instructables.com and Ninjawarriorblueprints.com.

Ninja Warrior Course

Ninja Warrior Course: The Ninja Warrior course differs because it includes elements of Parkour and Freerunning. According to Artofmanliness.com, Not only does Parkour look fun but it also seems like an important skill to have during the Zombie Apocalypse. Parkour is a full body work out that includes running, jumping climbing and swinging. When you see people on TV and in movies doing acrobatic flips and spins off walls, that is freerunning.

While Parkour and Freerunning are usually preformed in an urban setting, kids need to start honing their skills somewhere. The backyard is a great place to begin. This type of course does require the adult supervision both in planning out a course and using it. You can build your course completely from scratch using improvised materials or use a combo of DIY and manufactured components. You definitely want to include hurdles, walls and bars with differing heights, ledges and beams, ropes and rings. You want activities that concentrating on these skills; running, jumping different distances and heights, as well as dropping from them. Landing, rolling and vaulting. Balancing, climbing, crawling, and swinging.

Jungle Gym and Dome Climber

These are great starters if all that sounded like way too much. Both are available for purchase online, and the jungle gym can also be a DIY project. The main purpose of these items is play, so they will provide light exercise and be perfect for kids that aren’t interested in swings and slides, but are not quite ready to be warriors.

Jungle Gym: This is the one we are most familiar with. They are seen in playgrounds across America. Kids love to climb, swing and jump from the monkey bars. It’s an all in one design that doesn’t have to take up too much room in your backyard and really doesn’t need much explaining.

Dome Climber: Just as the name implies. It is a dome constructed out of metal bars. The children can climb on top of it, swing from the bars to build strength and agility. Many kids use their imaginations and play made up games inside the dome. The models available are moderately priced and according to reviews, not to hard to put together.

Towers

Towers: A tower is a structure built to be climbed. It can include standard ladders or rope ladders. You can add a slide or two. You can have more than one tower at different heights. It can have a roof or be left open. How about a rock wall or a zip-line? You can even get a toddler tower for the little ones. The price for the manufactured ones are moderate to high. These are again built for fun but do provide exercise from the climbing and jumping. Kids will improve their overall strength and build their confidence. A tower is also easy to incorporate into a Ninja course.

Trampoline

Trampoline: This requires the most amount of adult supervision. Safety is the first lesson that needs to be taught when choosing a trampoline. Despite the inherent risk of using a trampoline there are quite a few benefits to be had. It provides excellent cardiovascular or aerobic exercise. There is less risk to joints as compared to running. The jumping will help build leg muscles and core strength. Many different types of athletes, such as snowboarders, skiers, and skateboarders use trampolines regularly as part of their training. It is not uncommon nowadays for people to bury the trampoline for a cool look.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Well not completely different, but impermanent. If you have young children and don’t want them using the big kids course, you can make them one of their own from lightweight inexpensive materials. This is also a great idea for a backyard birthday party. And best of all you can easily pick it up and put it away.

1. Use pool noodles and rings to make a grid for doing footwork, line them up in arches for children to crawl under.
2. PVC pipes and joints make for easy hurdles. so do saw horses.
3. Old Cleaned up tires are good for building strength by either flipping or attaching a rope and pulling.
4. You can fill a wheelbarrow or wagon for pulling, pushing, or hurdles.
5. Play tunnels are also easy options.
6. Homemade stepping stones or a cut up tree trunk can be used for agility and balance.
7. Don’t throw out that old picnic table. It’s a great obstacle.
8. Several hula hoops can be strung from a tree branch for kids to jump through.

Here’s to the young warriors. May they go on to dominate in their chosen sport. And when they win their awards, may they thank Mom and Dad for doing all they could to encourage their dream.