I Did a Full Workout With My 6-Year-Old Daughter. Here's What Happened.

Lily Lifts

I call this series Lily Lifts. My daughter Lily is six years old, and I had her join me for a Speediance workout. She picked 10 reps for everything. I did my actual workout, and she followed along next to me.

She chose 10 reps. That's the number. We went with it.

The Setup

I was doing my real workout — custom workouts, not the stock programs. One warm-up set at 20 rep max for 13 reps, then one working set at 15 rep max for 13 reps.

Lily was doing her own thing next to me. I'd count her reps. She'd hit 10 on everything.

First exercise: kneeling single-arm lat pulldown. I was at 104 pounds. Lily was at 8 pounds — the machine goes down to 5, but 8 was her starting point.

She couldn't reach the handles from her knees. So I pulled the bar down to her. She did her 10 reps. Perfect form.

The Bicep Curl

Next: bicep curls. This one was funny because she was cheating — switching grips mid-rep, not full range of motion. I called her out. She fixed her form.

Underhand grip. Pull to shoulders. Full extension. Ten reps. She crushed it.

At one point she said, "This is easy." I told her it would get harder. She didn't believe me. That's being six.

Lat Pulldown — Standing

Then we did standing lat pulldown. I was doing 50 pounds with extra eccentric. That's heavy — I had to plant my back foot on the machine platform and rotate through.

Lily: 8 pounds. Standing. No problem.

She got to my hand at the bottom of the movement. I was pulling her down. She was laughing. That right there is why kids should lift — it's play to them.

The Reverse Fly

The supine dual-handle reverse fly is one of my favorite exercises on Speediance. It's not on Tonal. I do it for shoulder health and injury prevention.

I had Lily try it. She couldn't do the X movement — too hard for a six-year-old. So she did a modified version. Still counted.

The point isn't perfection. The point is she showed up and did the movement.

Why Kids Should Lift

I've let Lily and her younger sister play on the Speediance since they were toddlers. With the weight turned off, obviously. They pull on the cables. They grab the handles. They learn the movements.

When they're ready — and every kid is different — they can start adding actual resistance. Lily is there now. At six, she can do real reps with real weight.

The benefits:

- **Movement patterns early.** Lat pulldown, row, curl — these are foundational. Learning them as a kid means they'll be second nature as an adult.

- **No fear of the equipment.** The machine is intimidating if you've never used it. Getting familiar early removes that barrier.

- **Supervision is built in.** She's right next to me. I can watch her form. I can adjust the weight. No gym membership, no strangers, no problems.

Safety Notes

A few things I did right:

- Weight turned OFF for her. She's lifting the cable resistance only — maybe 3-5 pounds depending on the exercise. That's plenty for a six-year-old.

- I was next to her the entire time. No wandering. No unsupervised time on the machine.

- I let her choose her reps. Ten was her number. She hit it every time.

- I corrected form gently. When she switched grips mid-curl, I told her to fix it. She did.

What She Learned

By the end of the workout, Lily had done:

- 10 lat pulldowns (kneeling)

- 10 lat pulldowns (standing)

- 10 bicep curls

- 10 rows

- Several reverse fly attempts

Not bad for a six-year-old's first real gym session.

The Takeaway

Don't wait until your kids are teenagers to introduce them to lifting. If they're old enough to follow instructions — maybe 5 or 6 — they can start. Start with the weight off. Let them feel the movement. Add resistance slowly.

The gym isn't just for adults. It's a playground if you make it one.