Anterior Serratus Exercises For Kids
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a minimum of three muscle-strengthening workouts a week for children and adolescents. As part of a full-body strength-training program, implement exercises for the anterior serratus muscle. This muscle helps your child lift objects above his head and stabilizes his upper back. To prevent injury, demonstrate each exercise and assist your child in doing two to three sets of 10 repetitions of each. But get a pediatrician's approval first.
source
WINDSHIELD WIPERS
Lie on your back on an exercise mat with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Bend your arms, forming a 45-degree angle, with your palms facing the ceiling. Allow your upper arms to touch the mat throughout the exercise.
Push your hands in an arch motion toward your head, keeping your hands and forearms close to the floor. Continue pushing your hands in this manner until your fingers touch above the top of your head. Slowly move your arms to the original position to complete one repetition.
CAT STRETCH
Kneel with your palms, lower legs and toes on the floor. Align your hips directly above your knees, keeping your thighs perpendicular to the floor. With your child, pretend you are an angered cat; arch your back and imagine tucking your tail between your legs. Your body should form an N shape. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Then perform a reverse arch, lowering your abdomen toward the floor and pretending to push your imaginary cat tail into the air, forming a U shape with your body. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Return to the original position.
CLAP PUSHUPS
Modify the basic pushup to target your anterior serratus. On the floor in a pushup position, with your palms flat on the floor slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, lower your chest toward the floor by bending your elbows out to your sides. Begin raising your upper body by straightening your arms. Halfway through this motion, pause and quickly clap your hands together before finishing raising your body.
Some children may be able to perform this exercise in a traditional manner with the balls of their feet on the floor and their body straight from head to heels. However, children may place their knees on the floor as well, if necessary.
INCLINED WATER BOTTLE RAISE
Use a weight bench with the back inclined 45 to 60 degrees to perform inclined water bottle raises. Although this exercise is normally performed with two dumbbells, a child should use two water bottles as a safe substitute. Rest your back against the back of the inclined bench, holding a water bottle in each hand. Raise the bottles above your head, straightening your arms, keeping your arms perpendicular to the floor. Push the bottles slightly higher in the air by raising your shoulders off the bench, keeping your arms and back straight throughout the exercise.