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GLIDING DISCS FOR KIDS

written by Debra D'Acquisto

A set of Gliding Discs is the perfect answer to what piece of small equipment you should own that is versatile, inexpensive, and easy to use. Mindy Mylrea, creator of the Gliding Discs has made the ordinary round disc into a novel piece of equipment. Years ago, I taught a class with paper plates. It was the only piece of equipment I needed. I thought, "Wow," "Easy" and "Inexpensive!"

The format of the class allowed a low cardiovascular response and some strength training because the paper plates were used against air as the resistance, or slid against the floor surface under muscular control. A good deal of stretching out the legs from a standing, kneeling, or seated position could be achieved as the plates were slid along the floor. The upper body could be stretched from a down on all fours or lying frontal down position. A complete workout can be designed. Who knew, a few years down the road, the paper plates would morph into sophisticated discs, similar to a Frisbee, made of a hard plastic or tough Kevlar fabric. You can choose from two different materials so as to accommodate different gliding surfaces. The hard plastic gliding discs work great on carpet while the Kevlar fabric can be used on wood floors and linoleum.

Although the discs have been a great supplemental piece of equipment to the adult fitness classes, I see no reason not to include them with the kid age arsenal of equipment. Every exercise I've incorporated in the adult fitness classes using the gliding discs can work perfectly with the kids! In fact, kids might even enjoy the discs more! I see the kids trying new locomotive movements with the gliders under their feet. Adults are a little more reluctant to lengthen their strides and keep the momentum moving. Some adults will want to think too much about right, left, extend, slide, and glide while the kids are more spontaneous movers. Aren't we striving for spontaneous activity?

There are a few basic guidelines related to proper alignment when using the discs that glide. And, there are a few general posture checks that need to be taught. Safely using the discs is important. Each time anyone glides with the discs, alignment and posture cues and safe use reminders should be verbalized during the active exercise session. A couple of overview points include: 1) keep repetitions to about 3 or 4 for the difficult movements, 2) use variations liberally, 3) modify leg work by using one disc at a time, 4) partnering work allows one to spot while the other glides.

From time to time I create an in-service opportunity for our Physical Education Activity Program instructors with gliders as the sole piece of equipment. The in-service highlights a series of common exercises, just adding the discs to switch it up. Let's take a look at a few variations of lunges, push-ups, back extensions, hamstring curls, and abdominal exercises that incorporate the use of the discs. At the end of this piece, I have included a sample class format that is tried and true. Be free to adjust and modify for your students.

LUNGE

Lunges can be executed in a forward direction, to the side or laterally, and toward the rear. A leg that lunges toward the rear is usually called a reverse lunge. Let's look at the reverse lunge first.

Place a disc under one foot, the ball of the foot, while the other foot is not standing on a disc at this time. The heel of the working foot, the foot with the disc, never touches the ground. Touching the ground surface with the heel of the foot is called braking and braking will stop the glide.

Standing tall, all ten toes forward and legs parallel, release some of the body weight from the leg that will glide in reverse. More body weight is on the front leg that remains stationary. Remember, the heel is up so the gastrocnemius is contracted. Slide the disc along the floor in a reverse direction. I like to start with a mini lunge, and talk about the distance the knee is going toward the floor. You might say a mini reverse lunge is 10 %, when the knee is half the distance to the floor you might say 50% and a knee that touches the floor is 100%. One can come up with their own cues. You really do want to have a gradual progression to work through until the point when the knee eventually touches the floor. This allows everyone to go to the distance that they feel is right for them.

Someone, for example, may have a bad knee and can't touch it all the way down to the floor. Perhaps the posture, which requires engaging core muscles and balancing on a reduced base of support with a controlled dynamic movement, is the challenge. Keep the posture first, and go for the knee drop second.

Small mini lunges are a warm up to the half lunge. The half lunge series is preparation for the full lunge. Add variety to the series as you increase the range of motion, of the reverse glide. When the reverse is executed, with posture engaged and alignment in control, you can add variety with what the upper body is doing. While gliding, try reaching forward with the opposite arm, then reach with both arms. Try isolating the obliques and rotate about the trunk. Add free weights and perform bicep curls, overhead shoulder presses, pec (pectoralis) presses, or tricep kick backs.

Once your working leg is at the fullest point, engage the core and align the torso even more so and lift the foot off of the glider. Put the foot right back down on the glider and slide it back in to meet the supporting foot and leg. Speeding up the tempo of the mini glides and alternating right leg, left leg will create a cross-country ski - like action. Add arms and pretend you are holding ski poles!

The side lunge emphasizes leg control and adduction. Controlling the leg that glides to the point where the torso stays in alignment, then adducting those inner thigh muscles when gliding back toward the stationary leg is the key element in executing this lunge. Variations of the side lunge include adding an arm reaching diagonally across the center of the body. Next, hold a medicine ball and rotate the torso as the leg slides in abduction. Slide the leg away from the center of the body then raise it up from the disc a few inches; engage the gluteal muscles and hold. Perform several repetitions to one side then change to the other leg, or alternate the gliding legs more frequently. Change the direction of the slide from due right and due left to a more angled glide off the hips and slightly backward.

The forward "lunge" is really a small single leg squat for the leg that doesn't have the disc. The sliding leg makes contact on the center of the glider with the heel of a dorsi flexed foot. More body weight is on foot and leg without the disc. Slide the glider forward then back to the center of the body for this forward "lunge." Now we know the forward, side, and reverse lunges. Have fun and put all the directions together by calling out the hands of the clock as the point to where the leg glides.

For example, six o'clock, twelve o'clock, three o'clock, eight o'clock, working both legs depending on the time you call. You can also be more controlled with a pause at the end of each point on the floor. Slide, or glide, forward and pause, side and pause, back and pause, let the disc cross the midline a little bit and pause, drop the knee that is moving the disc, glide back to reverse, then side then front and return to center.

DISCS UNDER THE HANDS

By placing the gliding discs under the hands and sliding along the floor, muscles of the upper body, back, shoulder, and arms are recruited. An additional bonus to the upper body exercises is the isometric abdominal work that comes into focus. Key cues for progression are to start on the knees and increase the work load by going to the toes. Also, perform 2 or 3 repetitions per exercise. Start with a collapse, or letting the torso rest on the floor a moment, before finishing the exercise. Eliminate the collapse as strength is gained. Start by gliding the arms as wide as the shoulders then reduce that distance. Back extensions are executed by lying front side down, hands on discs positioned under the arm pits then gliding the discs to a "Y" position. At this point, the upper body may be raised from the floor surface for a moment, while hands stay in contact with the discs, and torso gently drops and slides to the return position.

A push up may start with hands on discs and kneeling as in a child's pose. Slide one arm at a time, arm into extension, while taking hips into a lowered and extended position; add a collapse, return one arm at a time and drop hips back into child’s pose.

Picture a modified plank. When the body is extended, engage the abdominals so as to discourage the lower back from going into an unplanned extension. Reproduce the push-up by starting standing instead of kneeling in child's pose. Micro bends at the knees, and begin to slide both hands along the floor surface away from the body. Hold that plank! With a strong abdominal contraction, pike the hips upward and forcefully slide the hands back toward the feet, keeping a micro bend when necessary, at the knees.

This exercise is sometimes called an elephant. A full plank is realized as you are on your balls of the feet or toes and hands instead of knees and hands. For variety, cue the variations that you normally would challenge the participants with. For example, to do a side plank, put the discs under the feet (side of the foot) and scissor the legs back and forth.

HAMSTRINGS

Focus on the hamstring by lying down on your back with the heels of the foot on each glider, shoulder width apart. Warm-up the hamstrings by gliding the discs one at a time, full range of motion (ROM) from buttocks to the longest leg extension. Increase the difficulty of the muscle challenge with raising the hips and keeping them high, as in a bridge, while gliding the discs, buttocks to long leg extension. Variations include, but not exclusive to, raising a leg from the disc while maintaining the bridge. Perform abdominal curls in rhythm with the hamstring curls. Add complementary arm movements for fun or for a purpose. Have fun partnering for some of the variations and keep the exercises in synch!

CARDIO

Cardiovascular sports activities as we know them include the movements of, for example, a cross country skier, a skater, a tennis player, or a runner. That is why, mimicking the glides of an athlete on skates or skies, doing squats or lunges, and dynamic core training is easy to attain by training with the discs.

As you've been reading, the discs set the tone for active movement, fun, and challenge! You can add more body parts and more movement or take them away, which is a great way to meet various abilities and to individualize. Sports movements core to such sports as skating, cross-country skiing, gymnastics, hockey, and competitive dancing can be easily mimicked. Supplemental sport training which incorporates lunges, squats, side steps, push-ups, and abdominal strengthening are enhanced with the use of gliders.

Discs move wonderfully along the progression of movement continuum. The challenge aspect of reducing a base of support, of sliding a long lever away from the center core, and the challenge to add movement to a previously stationary skill all increase the difficulty of the exercise. Working with kids, you have an instant activity and a pocketful of variations. I think using the gliding discs is the ticket to a varied workout. Using the discs provides consistency with muscle challenge, yet they are new and fresh enough each time they are used to keep it interesting.

For more information about gliding discs go to www.glidingdiscs.com or research Mindy Mylrea.

Watch more Gliding Disc videos.

SAMPLE WORKOUT

Warm-up on the discs (one foot on each, no braking):
Stationary squats, vary tempo
+ 2 quick squats to the right, two quick squats to the left, REPEAT 3 or 4 times
+ skate (right/left diagonal slides)
+ reverse lunges (right/left)
+ x-c ski (right/left)
REPEAT quick squats, skates, reverse lunges and x-c skies]

Main Body of Workout:

Abductions
Slow slide X4
+ fast slide X4 then raise leg off disc
+ single hack squat, slow slide, fast slide X8
+ slow slide X4
REPEAT OTHER LEG

Reverse Lunges
Slow mini rev lunge, slow half rev lunge, full rev lunge X8 ea
REPEAT mini lunges, half lunges, and full lunges at a faster speed
Lunges, tempo variation, pause, raise toe off disc
Clock lunge
REPEAT other leg

Squats X2 and SlidesX2, slow tempo, several sets
Squats X2 and Slides X2, fast tempo, several sets
+skate X8
+reverse lunge X8
+ X-C ski X8
+ stationary squats
REPEAT series

Pike Push-ups , arm variations, single arm slides, double arm slides, parallel arms and "Y" arms.

Plank Series, hand/elbow variations including abduction, one leg at a time.

Frontal and Side Planks.

Hamstring curls Series, bridge, slide legs one at a time then double, raise leg up and hold. Add abdominal curls to hamstring curls on tempo.

Tricep dips, discs under heels, hands on bench, bleacher, or step, drop hips while sliding single leg then double legs.

Creative Stretching.

 

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