Working out as a family is a great way to encourage your kids (and the adults!) to stay active. Here are some ideas for physical activities you can all do together. Remember, emphasize to your kids the importance of exercising in order to stay healthy and make ourselves feel good, and don’t present exercise as a way of losing weight or ‘earning’ treats, as worrying about counting calories could lead your kids to disordered eating.
1. Star jumps
Qalo.com has a list of easy indoor exercises you can do with your kids,whatever the weather. Star jumps are often a kids’ favorite, and the author of the Qalo blog post suggests exclaiming “I’m a STAR!” at the height of the jump to make the exercise extra fun for little kids. This approach doesn’t have to be limited to star jumps—finding ways to make working out more fun and engaging for the little ones will make everyone’s exercise regime easier and more pleasant.
2. Bike riding
Cycling is a great way to get from A to B while having fun and working out. Whether you are going for a leisurely bike ride around the local park or simply using cycling as a means of transport, riding bikes is a great exercise option for families, as very small children can be transported on the back of a parent’s bike while the older kids race around on their own bikes.
In its blog post about exercise ideas for every season, eatright.org even suggests organizing a bike wash on your street. You and your neighbors could pitch in, and each buy a piece of bike maintenance equipment, such as chain degreaser, a tire pump, and a multitool, and get together to clean and service your bikes—and teach the kids how to do it, too! Hosting a bicycle wash and maintenance session for your street will help you make new friends and is sure to give you plenty of brownie points with the neighbors.
3. Mixed Martial Arts
Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA, is a full-contact combat sport thatallows for the use of several martial arts techniques under a set of unified rules. MMA has become very popular partly due to the fact that in its leading organization, the Ultimate Fighting Championship or UFC, women have equal representation to men.
Mixed Martial Arts is a great choice for your family if you have very energetic kids who like to wrestle each other—this way, they’ll be wrestling safely and with appropriate rules in place! Some gyms, such as fightcitygym.co.uk, offer MMA classes for both kids and adults, including women-only ones. You could all sign up for a class and then hold competitions at home!
4. Basketball
According to healthline.com, playing basketball is a great way to get a full-body workout in while also working on communication skills and on being a good team player.
If you have a backyard, all you need to do isbuy a hoop and a ball; if not, you can find basketball courts at many parks and at most sports centers, so you can play regardless of the weather.
