If you can get your students to associate multiplication with music and dance, they may find the topic more interesting than they would otherwise. One multiplication dance exercise involves assigning a number to both of the hands and both of the feet: one for the right hand, two for the left hand, three for the right foot and four for the left foot. Then write the words for a song about multiplication, making reference to the limb with which each number is associated. For example, if you have assigned the number two to one arm and three to the opposite arm, use the lyrics "three times two is six." When the students sing these words, have them cross their two arms to symbolize the act of multiplication, then put up three fingers on each hand to make the number six.
Another way to teach multiplication with movement is to have your students play sports. Instead of having the score go up consecutively, however, have the score goes up exponentially. For example, if the students are playing basketball, assign the first goal as two points, the second worth four points, the third worth eight and so on. Start with an initial point value and multiply it by itself for each goal. Another way to teach multiplication through physical games is to have your students pick two numbers, multiply those two numbers together, and then do the same number of jumping jacks as the product of the two multiplied numbers.
Students typically learn multiplication in their elementary and middle school years between 5 and 11 years of age. Students at this age are not able to do heavy weight lifting. If you have small weights, however, and if your students are interested in learning how to use them, you can use those weights to teach your students about multiplication. In one weight-lifting exercise, have your students lift a small weight a certain number of times. Then, have them multiply the weight of the dumbbell by the number of reps in order to arrive at a total amount of weight lifted.
Running is a great form of exercise that can also teach your students a lot about multiplication. One way is to have your students use multiplication to decide how far they will run. Tell the students the length of your school's gym, and then ask them to decide on two numbers that they will multiply together. The students have to pick their two numbers carefully because they will determine how many laps they have to do. If your students don't like running, you can have them multiply two numbers and do that many jumping jacks or rope jumps instead.