5 Family Activities to Increase Fitness

Family Fitness to Keep Us Happy

Have a little extra weight you would like to shed? No time to work out because your kids are always demanding your attention? Let’s explore some ways to increase your own fitness, while also instilling a healthy habit of fitness in your children.

Let’s jump into five activities that will benefit your family’s fitness.

1. Yoga

If you are just starting out on the fitness journey, give yoga a try! Yoga is a calming workout that can benefit the entire family. Yoga can:

• Increase flexibility.
• Increase muscle strength and tone.
• Improve respiration, energy and vitality.
• Help maintain a balanced metabolism.
• Help you lose weight.
• Improve cardio and circulatory health.
• Improve athletic performance.
• Protect from injury.
• Decrease stress
• Improve overall sleep quality

A quick Google or Youtube search will bring up a treasure trove of family yoga videos you can do at home. My kids are big fans of Cosmic Kids Yoga!

2. Walk or Hike

This one is super easy and doesn’t require any special equipment or videos. All you have to do is hit the road, or trail! In a pinch, walking around the neighborhood is fine, but your kids might get bored with this, so whip up a quick neighborhood scavenger hunt for them to search for specific items as you go.

For more excitement, hit a local park and explore nature. Make sure you bring your bug spray and check for ticks afterwards if you live in an area where ticks are prevalent. You can also use a scavenger hunt on a hike and challenge your child to find new vegetation, bugs, or birds. Or bring a map and teach your child how to read a map while also getting exercise.

Another big motivator, for kids and adults alike, is a fitness watch. Being able to see how many steps you’ve gotten can set up an easy challenge of beating that number on the next walk!

3. Dance Party!

Ok, so I am dreadful at dancing. But my kids don’t care, and yours probably won’t either. So, crank up the kid tunes (I like Kidz Bop) and dance like no one is watching. It’s sure to improve everyone’s mood and get everyone dancing! Music has a magical way of making us calmer, happier, and less anxious.

Spice things up even more and have a dance-off! Who has the best moves? The most creative dance move? Or the moves that make everyone laugh the most?

If you are still hesitant to bust a move, turn to Youtube and search “brain breaks.” I use these dance videos all the time at school when the weather is less than stellar, and the kids love them. Just follow the video’s lead.

4. Bike Riding

Bike rides can expose your family to new sights while also providing fantastic exercise. Your kids’ balance and focus will improve, as will their overall fitness. Just make sure you have the proper protective gear, like helmets and reflective clothing.

Once our kids were fairly accomplished with their training wheels, we took them off and let them ride in the grass. It took some help, and a couple of falls, but one of our kids has already grown in confidence. The other still prefers the training wheels.

5. Running

Ok, I hate to run. But I can play tag with my kids or chase them on the playground! If you like to run, then suit up the kids and hit the sidewalk. But, if you are like me, you might have to be a little more creative in your run game. And I do mean game.

Create an obstacle course or relay race. Make it more interesting by having a task to do when you get to the end of the first leg of the relay. Anyone else remember that ridiculous relay race we did as kids where you had to put on an article of clothing over top of your clothes on each leg of the race? The first team to don all their clothes won. If it is hot and sunny out, add a little water fun to your relay race or obstacle course!

What's Your Family Fitness Routine?

Those are some of the things we’re doing to provide a little family fitness in our home. It’s not always easy, and sometimes it’s easier to just sit down to read or play games. So, what are some of your family fitness routines? Share them with us here or head over to Facebook and Twitter to let us know. While you’re there, don’t forget to like our pages and follow our blog to keep updated with more of our parenting adventures.