danger
COVID-19 Risk Level for Multnomah County: Extreme Risk

Recess! Theme: Strength

A bright pink lightning bolt with black outline against a bright yellow background. Text reads Strength.

You don't need weights or special skills to build muscle, bone strength, and prevent injuries. Strength training also boosts confidence and mental health.

Getting started

Start small when doing strength exercises. Try doing an exercise 5-10 times and then move to the next one. 

  • Slow and steady is the best way to do strength exercises
  • Focus on your body position, engage your stomach muscles, and go slowly
  • Breathing is important, too! Inhale and exhale with each repetition 

Start out by trying these four strength exercises. 

Four suggested strength exercises: Power circles, Superman, Bridges, and Front Lunges.

Upper Body: Power Circles

  • Make big, slow circles with your arms in a backwards direction
  • Engage your stomach muscles

Core: Superman

  • Lie on your stomach and extend your arms over your head, legs straight back
  • Contract your glutes, or butt muscles, and slowly lift your legs and arms off the floor towards the ceiling
  • Hold arms and legs in the air for 2-3 seconds each time

Core: Bridges

  • Lie on your back with your feet hip-width apart and arms at your sides; legs bent, knees in the air
  • Push your heels into the floor, squeeze your glutes and stomach muscles - slowly lift your hips off the floor
  • Slowly lower your hips down to the floor and repeat

Lower Body: Forward Lunges

  • Stand with your feet hip-width apart
  • Take a big step forward with your right foot, bend knees and lower down until your right thigh is parallel to the floor
  • Keep your knee behind your toes
  • Press into your heel to step back into the standing position. Repeat with left side.

Sworkit Workouts

Short strength sessions you can do at home using a computer or smartphone.

Once you choose a workout from our website, you'll be sent to Sworkit. There, you can select how much time your session will be, choose music, and then click Begin Workout. You can hit pause for a break and also rewind to review.
To Sworkit: Select a workout from below, then 1) Select how much time you have/want to do 2) Pick music, OR just click Begin Workout

Full Body Strength (Ages 11-15)

A workout that works the whole body to build strength.

Start Full Body Strength

These Sworkit workouts were intended for ages 15-18. If you are already doing a lot of strength exercises you might be ready to try them out. Take some ideas and add them to the Full Body Strength workout above. 

Strength Endurance Pyramid (Ages 15-18)

Strength with cardio included

Start Strength Endurance Pyramid 

Upper Body Strength (Ages 15-18)

An upper body and core workout to build strength

Start Upper Body Strength

Lower Body Strength (Ages 15-18)

Focus on leg and core strength

Start Lower Body Strength

  • 20-minute SworkIt exercise session. Find an area in your house to do the exercise, slip into comfy clothes, and click Start when you're ready.
    • Exercises are shuffled so you'll get a variety through repeated sessions.

Back to RECESS home page

See something we could improve on this page? Give website feedback.