Tips For Keeping Your Family Exercising Together

Today we held our 6th Annual Get Moving Quay County Fun Run/Walk.  The committee's morning started early as we set up while trying to decide if we should cancel.   At 6:00 a.m. there was plenty of lightening and heavy rain just North of town.  The rain in town was much less.  But we were blessed around 7:00 as people started arriving with big smiles on their faces and the rain let up.  We had great music to keep everyone pumped.  After the start of the event, I moved to an intersection to stop traffic as the participants came by.  It was a great place to be, because I could see all of the families that walked the course.  The goal of this event was to get families to be more active and it was successful.  There were a lot of families walking past me.  Many of the participants thank me as they pasted.    I found these tips on keeping your family active from Food and Health Communications Inc.

These 4 tips will help your family develop a fun exercise routine, together.

Tip #1: Consider Your Interests
If you have a child who is firmly against playing basketball, then trying to form a family basketball team is probably not in the cards for you. Save your energy and skip that battle, looking instead for something that everyone might enjoy. Brainstorm ideas as a family, writing out each contribution, and then narrow the list from there. Some possible family exercise activities include touring the neighborhood on our bikes and/or scooters, building obstacle courses in the backyard or living room and then timing each other as we race through them, going for a jog on a nearby nature path, setting up a weightlifting routine with water bottles and canned goods instead of actual weights, planning and then completing a “boot camp” regimen with a different person leading each set of exercises, playing “giant” soccer with a tennis ball instead of a soccer ball (you feel like a giant with such a tiny ball, and the smaller size calls for more precise maneuvering), etc. Have fun and be creative!

Tip #2: Mix it Up
Don’t let your routine become a rut. There are lots of fun things to do together, so be sure to mix up your plans once in a while. These can be tiny changes, like switching from sit-ups to planks once a week, or you can do something completely different every once in a while, like playing tennis with your tennis ball instead of “giant” soccer. Be sure to keep it fresh and check in with the rest of your family to make sure that everyone is still having fun.

Tip #3: Take a Break
Every once in a while, you will need to skip a workout. Perhaps someone in your family is under the weather, at an after-school activity, or needs to study for an exam. Go ahead and take a break. If these breaks start to be called for too frequently, then you might need to rework your routine/expectations.

Tip #4: Stay Committed
It’s important to stay committed to your new routine or every excuse will become a reason to skip a workout. If the fun of your games and programs isn’t reward enough, consider setting up a reward system for each workout.  Once you have logged in a certain amount of miles on your bike, treat yourself to a new bike accessory.  Other fun ways to track progress include setting up a chart with each family member’s name on it, then marking each day of the month. Every day that a family member exercises, he or she gets a sticker to put on the chart. Or you can offer a “get out of ____ chore free” card to the person who is most enthusiastic about the workouts of the week. Play around and figure out what works best for your family.