Level Up Your Old Family Fitness Routine With These 12 Cool Ideas
Family involvement is a valuable thing. Getting the family to support each other in everything everybody does shows how strong the relationship is. And even if each family member has different goals or dreams, you always choose to be healthy in order to live happily and enjoy life longer together.
Fitness is something you can always share with anyone, especially with your family. Aside from cooking deliciously healthy meals, you can get everyone active, too, through regular exercising.
If you’re a very busy parent, it’s totally normal to get caught up between choosing to work out or spending quality time together. But always remember that choosing the road to fitness and healthier lifestyle is not about having time, it’s all about making time. In fact, there are plenty of benefits when you exercise as a family.
If the old exercise routine is too tedious for everybody, here are 12 cool ideas to level up your fitness routine:
Decide on a fitness goal
Choose a fitness goal that meets the needs of your family because not every member is the athletic type.
If you have more than two kids, some of them are naturally active, while others prefer to stay at home and sit on the couch all day. In this case, let the most active or most athletic family member lead the warm-up and closing exercises.
Decide workout routines that will match your family’s skills. From beginner to advanced, there are plenty of exercises for everyone to try.
Try a family dance contest
Break the dull exercise routine with a family dance contest. Get everyone moving by showing those killer dance moves. You don’t need to be a pro to move your body.
To make everyone take part (even the most timid family member), do it in groups. But if your family is small, individual dancing is fine. If there are members who decide not to participate, they should give the prizes to those who choose to join.
Do this once a week, and in between your workout schedules. Say Monday & Tuesday is all about cardio activities, have a dance contest by Wednesday, before Thursday & Friday program comes. Dancing is not just a great cardio exercise, but it helps boost confidence and is very fun to do, too.
Have car wash cardio day
Encourage your family to have a car wash day where you can wash cars and get paid for it, then all earnings will go straight to your family fund. This is a good way to save money and stay fit as well.
If you have a car, then that’s a bonus. It means you already have the necessary “equipment” to do the activity. But if not, a garden hose and a bucket full of soapy water is enough to scream fun for everyone, especially for kids.
Do speed-cleaning cardio
Don’t know how to make everyone help you with the household chores? Turn it into a cool fitness routine.
First, you need upbeat music to break the boring chores vibe. Second, no phones are allowed until the activity is over. Once the timer starts, everyone should grab their cleaning tools and start cleaning the house. Don’t assign tasks to them. Rather, let them do what they think is needed to make the house clean.
After the time beeps, let everyone rest while you give them delicious snacks as their reward. So make sure you already have some prepared the night or hours before.
Playground olympics
Once or twice a week, allow your family to experience outdoor fitness and engage more with nature. You can all go hiking or running. However, these two are usually very common, and you may already be doing it a few times a week.
Another excellent option is to let your family practice their best area in fitness. You can go to the park where there are monkey bars on where everyone can work on their stamina, posture, and back muscles. Or bring your favorite fitness equipment with you, like frisbee or hula hoop.
Other people will be amazed at how much fun you and your family are having and would probably wonder how many calories you’re all burning.
Let your child teach you
Unleash your child’s inner talent or skill by letting them teach you what they really love doing. Once a week, allow one child to lead the fitness activity and let the whole family participate.
If your child loves basketball, let him lead the game before you proceed with the rest of the workout routine.
If your child loves ice skating, go to their favorite ice skating spot and encourage the whole family to try it, too. This will build your child’s leadership skills and make them love fitness more. Active kids love to show off their expertise.
Praise the efforts, not the results
In fitness, it takes some time before results appear. And in order to achieve results, dedication, motivation, and passion are needed.
A little friendly competition is fine. Particularly if your workout routine consists of games and group challenges. But motivating and cheering each other during the workout is very important to work towards a common goal.
If you see a family member having difficulty, praise their efforts and help them cope with areas that need to be worked on.
Choose your favorite exercises
Before you start your workout programs, let each family member choose their favorite warm-up exercises to make the fitness routine more enjoyable. After that, proceed with the flexibility exercises, jumping jacks, sit-ups, push-ups, and squats for a complete body workout.
Always have positive reinforcement
Don’t proceed with the fitness program if one of the family member is sad, grumpy, or in a bad mood. Always bring positive energy to generate better results and to start the day right.
You can try meditation and deep breathing exercises before workouts. Or give refreshing drinks and healthy snacks to uplift everyone’s mood and energize them.
Give rewards
At the end of every workout program, give everyone a reward for their efforts, teamwork, discipline, and hard work. Giving them prizes will make them feel appreciated for showing up. Kids love surprises, too.
Rewards don’t always need to be grand or costly. Giving delicious snacks or serving your family’s favorite meal is enough to serve as a reward for the family.
But if you’re still running out of ideas, this blog shows a list of cool prizes, as well as few more fitness tips.
Always set a good example
Success does not rely on results, but on efforts…
‘Being’ the best is not the most important thing, ‘doing’ the best is all that matters.
The secret to raising active kids is to be an active parent. Maintain a healthy lifestyle even in rest days. Choose to walk instead of driving whenever possible. Reach for healthy snacks over junk foods. Cook meals at home, rather than ordering takeouts.
Cheat day is okay. You can eat fast foods and sweets sometimes, but don’t do it weekly. Establishing a healthy lifestyle will give you less worries about your children growing up sickly or unhealthy.
Stay consistent
It’s normal to feel lazy, especially if the weather is too cold or it’s rainy. But don’t allow yourself to succumb to laziness too often or it will become a habit.
At times like this, you can still avoid sedentary days by playing games indoors or asking everyone to help you out with the chores. You have to try your best to beat laziness or it will consume everybody.
Remember, consistent actions create consistent results.
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