Fitness is important for us all. when I was a kid there were no electronic devices I could sit glued to for hours on end, except the t.v. which only had 3 channels!
Today, with so many distractions it’s tough getting kids outside to move. To be honest, it’s not all that easy for us adults to move either.
Anyway, it might make fitness a lot easier and even fun if you could do it as a family.
This article will help jumpstart your imagination and help you create great exercise options that are fun for your whole family no matter what ages.
Outdoor Adventures
One of the best ways to get fit as a family is by creating outdoor adventures. Something as small as playing pirate in your backyard or at the park can be a blast for everyone and will build some great memories.
If the kids are a little too old for that you can bike, hike, swim, jog, etc. Plenty to do and you can all have some fun along the way. Most of us really feel energized and connected after spending time outside enjoying our beautiful world.
Some ideas:
Hiking in the Mountains
Going hiking where it is hilly is a workout for anyone. Choose the right level of difficulty depending on the fitness levels and ages of your family. You’ll get stronger leg and butt muscles as well as an amazing cardio workout.
Biking on Trails
Biking on trails is another very beneficial, and fun option. Again, find the proper location for your family which takes into account ages and fitness levels. No one will have fun it they can’t do it or they are so sore they can’t move for a week afterwards. You’ll never get them to go with you again!
Like hiking, biking will build strong legs and a healthy cardiovascular system.
Swimming in Pools, Lakes or Rivers
Not only is swimming fun and cooling, teaching your kids to swim at an early age could literally save their life. When you swim in a pool its fun and you don’t have to worry about contamination or any type of current or undertow, but it’s not the same as swimming in other bodies of water.
You’ll tend to have more wave action in a lake which just makes it more challenging. Unlike the two previous workout ideas, hiking and biking, swimming works every muscle in your body and is great cardio.
Camping and Outdoor Games
Camping in and of itself isn’t a great workout, though collecting wood can be a chore, but once camp is set up there is a lot you can do to stay active. Everything from throwing a ball or frisbee to going canoeing, swimming, hiking, or biking.
Some tips to make your camping more fun for everyone:
- Choose a hiking trail with varying difficulty levels to accommodate everyone’s fitness level
- Invest in good quality, safe bikes and well fitting helmets
- Bring comfortable walking shoes and don’t make it a marathon, even slow and easy will give you a workout without stressing anyone
- Find a clean, safe, and preferably guarded lake, river or pool to swim in
Indoor Workouts
Stuck inside because of bad weather? There are still some options for getting some family exercise:
Dance Parties
Your kids will really love this one. Just crank up the music and have a ball.
If you have a karaoke machine you can add even more fun to your dance party. You can even teach your kids some dances from when you were younger, and depending on their ages, they may be able to teach you some dances too.
Home Workout Videos
It could go either way with this option, this may not work for younger kids, on the other hand they may have a ton of fun trying to do these workouts with you.
Family Yoga Sessions
Yoga is a good way to stay flexible and strong. And, it can be relaxing.
Again, it’s iffy as to whether or not this will work with your kids but it’s an idea.
Indoor Sports Games
Table tennis can offer a little cardio benefit if you’re good at it. For me, the only benefit I get is bending over to pick the balls that I missed off of the floor!
But, it’s still fun. Same with pool or other table games.
Circuit Training
Circuit training is when you have a course set up with multiple stations and each station has one exercise. You go from station to station and do the exercise at each station. After a set time you move on to the next station. Having a timer go offer every 30 seconds up to 1 minute will keep everyone moving form station to station.
Since this is done together but each person is at a different station, it can actually work well for a big range of ages and fitness levels. Everyone can work at their own level at each station.
If you have a garage, or large basement area you can do this inside or outside. But, depending on the exercises you choose for each station, this doesn’t have to take up a lot of room.
Some ideas for the different stations:
- Dumbbells for biceps, triceps work
- A mat for stretching or doing planks
- Calisthenics, like gym class. Jumping jacks, jump rope, leg lifts, crunches, etc.
You can add a competitive element too. Have each person track their progress, how many jumping jacks, crunches, or how heavy a weight they use, overtime so they can get excited about their progress.
Active Vacations
Planning active vacations, or at least some active activities on your next vacation, is a great way to add fitness to more of your family time.
Now, since I love it too, I’ll never tell anyone not to lounge by the pool all day, but, maybe you can add some other activities too!
Beach Activities
If you’re heading on a beach vacation you can do all the things listed above…but at the beach! Hike, bike, swim, have a dance party, play volleyball, throw a football, there is a lot to do.
And, don’t forget about the other water activities you can do like kayaking, wave boarding, skiing, etc.
Winter
Going to the mountains during winter? Snowboarding, skiing, skating, snowshoeing, etc. Tons of stuff to do.
You can easily get a full-body workout, improve your balance and coordination, and have a lot of fun.
Active Sightseeing
Going somewhere new for vacation and want to see all the sights? Instead of going on a bus tour, or similar, why not try to find a walking tour? Good exercise while exploring the new place.
Adventure Parks
If you’ve got an adventure park near your vacation destination, this could be a great way to get some fitness, challenge yourselves and have a blast. These types of parks are becoming more popular and they offer things like zip-lining, rock climbing, and obstacle courses.
Family Fitness Challenges
This option works great if your kids are a little older and more competitive. And, instead of competing against each other, you can set it up so that everyone is competing against themselves.
Competition is a great trait to learn at an early age but if your kids are still pretty young, you’ll beat them every time. While kids need to lose since this is a part of life, losing every single time isn’t much fun and might discourage them. So, they can compete against themselves and track their own improvement over time. Everyone in the family can do this then you can all compare your progress.
Gardening
Having your kids help you in the garden, or with any household chore, can help them learn the importance of working for what they want as well as responsibility. It’s also a way for you to get extra help.
Working in the garden also teaches great life skills like understanding where their food comes from and the hard work that goes into growing food.
Bottom Line
Staying fit is challenging in our world today. There are so many tools that will automate our task and with so many interesting things to see and do on our phones, computers and t.v.’s, there are more distractions than ever keeping us sitting on our rears.
At the end of the day it’s about fun. Fitness is important too and you can instill a life long habit of living in a more healthy way, but just spending time as a family and enjoying an activity is the number 1 goal!