Make Your Workout a Family Affair
Workouts should be a family affair. Sometimes you might have to get creative, but the payoff is worth it.
Making workouts fun
My kickboxing aerobics instructors, Dana and Gloria Warren are always changing up our workouts and one night there were several kids that came with their parents.
Dana started us off with a game of tag. Think you’re in shape? Try keeping up with a bunch of kids in a confined space who run for fun all day long. The Klutzy Athlete was breathing heavy in no time.
Later in class, we piggy-backed the kids up and down the gym. They may not heavy, but trust me, you’ll get a good workout after a few trips with an extra 30-50 pounds on your back. And even better, plenty of laughter in your ear to make the workout a lot more fun!
Rebecca Clark, a trainer and author of The Checklist Diet said, “When my kids were little, I would do exercise tapes with them in the room. At first, they’d get in the way and hated that I wasn’t paying attention to them.”
Rebecca got creative and bought exercise toys that were only played with when she worked out. She also got them their own workout clothes and one pound weights so they could work out with her.
“Exercise just became a way of life with my kids because they saw mom doing it every day,” Rebecca said. A double bonus—the kids wanted to workout and it helped her stay fit, too.
Here are a few more ideas:
- Balance the kids on your feet and push up
- Do push ups with the kids sitting on your back
- Grab the kids by their ankles and drag them up and down the gym
- Play keep away
- Shoot basketballs
- Do short sprint races
Exercising is a great way to spend time with your kids and explore the great outdoors. What fitness workouts have you done with your children?