How to Promote Fitness at Home

How to Promote Fitness at Home

Though children are naturally active, sometimes it can be hard to get them moving after a day riding in the car, at school, and doing homework. Depending on age, they might spend most of their time in front of a TV or listening to the teacher talk. However, those actions can hurt their motor skills and growth.

Activity helps to strengthen a child's muscles, bones, and even heart. Physical activity at any age can help a child stay away from a sedentary lifestyle as an adult. As doctors will say, “good habits last a lifetime.” It’s never to start these lifelong health habits early!

You might wonder how you can get your activity in at the same time your child does. You need a good workout and your child needs over an hour of running around! Together, those could take up the better part of your time! However, working out as a family doesn’t have to mean breaking out the weights. All you need is a few active lifestyle activities. What’s even better? These family fitness activities serve as a double win! While ensuring everyone in your family leads a healthy lifestyle, you can also spend time together.

Take Walks:

Walking is excellent for the body and can be done in groups. Taking time for a walk here and there also won’t put your daily schedule too much out of order. If you have time, go before dinner each afternoon. Take everyone in the family and make a game out of it. Skip from one mailbox to the next, play I Spy for a block.

If you have a dog, bring him or her along! Walking with your dogs is healthy for both you and them. It will also give you a task, something more than staying active. If you don’t have a dog of your own, try going on a search for some. Walk through the neighboorhood and see how many different dogs you can spot with your family.

The last option to make a walk more fun is to join a race. These races, though not free, often have exciting activities at the end as well as prizes if you are into running and completing more than walking. These are usually on the weekend, mostly in the mornings so they often won’t impede your regular work schedule!

Dance:

If you can’t go outside, dancing is a great option to stay active. Just turn on your families favorite jams and get moving. To make it more fun, make sure you play some songs from each generation’s playlist. If you need some help, Dancing Queen, Baby Shark, Brick House, Cupid Shuffle, and Bear Hunt can get your night started!

Go Outside:

There are more things besides walking that you can do outside. If you have a yard, team up for some yard work. Show your children age-appropriate activities such as pulling weeds, trimming hedges, or cutting the lawn if older. If you have a garden, let them help you by planting this year's flowers and vegetables. As a bonus teach them as you work!

Sneak In Workouts:

If you have chores that your children can do, it’s time to turn those into a way to get active. By making dusting into a game, you can get your child more active while also getting their help around the house.

Another option is to get your family moving during commercial breaks. Each commercial break, use the commercials as a guide. See how many jumping jacks everyone can do, how many pushups, or how many squats. Make sure you work on everyone’s form though!

Lastly, try extending specific tasks. If you drive your child to school, try parking a few blocks away and walking the whole way. If you need to go to the mall, park at the back of the parking lot. Try to take the stairs whenever you can. When you need to be more active, make sure it starts with the small things too!

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