Taking care of yourself is great, but fitness is more fun when you can involve the entire family. And teaching healthy practices at a young age helps your child grow up with good practices to build on. As your children grow, they will realize that health is one of the best gifts you have given to them. A healthy family is happier and won’t drain your bank account with medical bills.
But to keep your family interested, it’s best to find fun family activities that you can do together. Making fitness fun will require some planning and creativity, but it will be worth the effort. Here are some fun activities to keep your family healthy.
Take a Hike
Hiking can be fun and interesting, especially if you visit local parks and wilderness areas. Hiking trails offer a wide variety of plant and animal life. If you have young children, turn your hike into a learning experience. Make it interesting by going on evening hikes when the bats come out or find a trail where wildflowers naturally grow.
If there is a nearby park with a river or stream, hike along that and point out the different plants. Allow your children to look for fish, turtles and other animals that live in that type of ecosystem. Teaching children a love for nature can help foster a family tradition that you can enjoy together for years to come.
Play Games
Before smartphones, many families played games together. Today, kids might have to be coerced, but once they try, they will love it. Try playing tag, ball or badminton. Try a dance party or a hula hoop contest. see who can jump rope the longest. Table tennis is a fun sport that’s fairly easy to learn. If you have a pool or nearby community pool, make swimming together with regular activity. But your kids don’t have to give up video games.
Video dance games are abundant and get the whole family moving. A popular one called Just Dance has many levels that can get your heartbeat going while you try to keep up with the game. Wii Sports is another video game that was made for all to enjoy fun family activities. They include many video games that the entire family can physically take part in. Try Wii bowling, tennis, and even boxing. A little competition among family can be healthy.
Train for a Race Together
Train for a marathon or charity race for fitness fun. Find a local race, or use a fitness app like Yes.fit to find a level that will accommodate the entire family. You can cheer each other on as you watch yourselves become more fit and healthy. And training together can make your time more enjoyable and teach healthy habits that will last.
If you find a local charity race, involving the kids will teach them the importance of service and helping others. To find one near you, simply search on the internet for charitable races. You might be surprised at how many you find; charity races are popular events, these days!
Hunt for Pokemon and Wizards
The popularity of Pokemon Go made it easy and fun for kids and adults to go out and meet their neighbors. In fact, it was so popular they invented another game for different personalities called Wizard’s Unite! In both games, you can go for walks anywhere from your neighborhood, take a family outing to the beach or walk around your local mall. As you find the characters and gather points, you will enjoy the time spent with family. But be careful and watch where you’re going, you don’t want to trip into a fountain!
After Dinner Walk
Family dinners are excellent bonding moments. We can learn about our family members and see how everyone’s day was. But when it’s over, most families might go their separate ways. But it doesn’t have to be like this.
Taking a moderately paced walk after dinner can aid digestion as it helps your food break down and move through your system more efficiently. Post-meal walking also lowers post-meal blood sugar levels, especially in diabetics. Along with the health benefits, this practice can be a time of bonding and enjoying the outdoors. If the weather is not cooperating, you can still walk in a mall or indoor track.
Snowboard
Teach the kids to snowboard or ski, if you live in an area that has a mountain. Many places offer reasonable season passes for families, allowing you to go anytime. If you live in an area that does not have slopes, try cross country skiing. This is an even more difficult workout but can be done about anywhere.
Both snowboarding and skiing raise your heart rate and benefits the cardiovascular system. Your blood circulates more, carrying the fresh, winter air through your entire body while transporting nutrients to all your muscles tissues. At the same time, you will be exhaling waste.
Cross country skiing, downhill skiing and snowboarding all aid in weight loss as you expend massive calories. No matter if you’re a beginner or an expert, your body will become stronger and your attitude will improve. And it just so happens that this is an excellent fun fitness activity that your family will enjoy a lifetime.
Play at the Beach
Make family beach days a regular part of your summer routine. And it doesn’t have to wait until summer. Many beaches are open in the spring and fall, at least until it gets too cold. Activities at the beach can include volleyball, bike rides if there are nearby trails or water sports like kayaking or stand-up paddle-boarding.
Take Care of Your Yard
Yard work can be fun! Turn household chores into a game. Your kids might not like it at first, but you can find clever ways for them to enjoy activities like raking in the fall or shoveling in the winter. Have a competition and reward the winner with ice cream. Raking leaves into piles of snow into snowbanks can create hours of fun for all ages, or build a sledding mini-hill right in your own yard. You’ll have fun, get some outdoor exercise and teach your kids a little responsibility all at the same time.
As you can see, family fitness can be fun. What a great way to spend some quality time and doing physical activities your kids will love. You can be your kids’ greatest teacher and leader and give them the gift of health for life.
Enjoy your family, make fitness fun and take care!
