Let’s face it. There is nothing that can take the place of quality time with your family. Why not incorporate family time with fitness time and make the whole family happier and healthier? Maybe you’ll want to start with just once a week and make 2 or 3 times a week your goal. The most important thing is that you start! Even if it’s just 1 night a week, begin scheduling time into your weekly schedule for family fitness. From hand washing the car to walking the dog, there are many ways to get the family moving. Even a night of bowling will burn a lot more calories than a night of television (assuming you go after dinner and avoid the colas and junk food). Eating less junk will also save you a lot of money.

The most important part of family fitness is that everyone enjoys it. Make every effort to be fun and flexible to what the kids want to do. This is a great opportunity to build your kids’ self-esteem and brag on their strengths. If their athletic skills are wanting, brag on their people skills or their intelligence in the game. Make family fitness time off limits for quarrels or confrontations and encourage fun topics. Be creative. Once you set a time, mark it on a calendar where everyone will see it, and then talk it up! It won’t take long before your entire family will look forward to this time together. Here are some fun fitness ideas to get your family fitness time off to a great start!

1. Find a nearby park and play. Bike, walk, or drive to a nearby park and take a Frisbee, football, or soccer ball and play. You’ll not only encourage exercise, but you’ll also make some great family memories. If you go on Saturday or during the summer, try taking a healthy picnic lunch on occasion. Make sure helmets or other necessary safety gear is worn and review all relevant safety rules. Always make safety a priority and don’t forget the water.
2. Walk around the neighborhood. Walking can be great exercise, and all you need are some good walking shoes. Push the kids in a stroller or let the dog lead the way. Better yet, plot a strategic course and time yourselves. Buy a stopwatch and let the kids take turns timing you. You might even have a nearby park or jogging path. If safety is a challenge, drive to a track or walk at the mall. Wherever you go, start at your own fitness level and be progressive. Make it a little more challenging each week by increasing either your distance or your speed. Don’t do too much too soon!
3. Go military. Take turns being the captain in the army and bark orders at one another. Make one another do a realistic amount of calisthenics. You can run in place to the count of 30. You can do sets of jumping jacks, sit-ups, or push-ups. If necessary, remind the kids to take it easy on Mom and Dad and make sure not to overdo it. See if you can keep a tally of everyone’s personal record. If you did 20 sit-ups on your last military night, see if you can do more. Let the girls do push-ups on their knees, since they normally have less upper body strength. Try to make things fair and not too competitive.
4. “Get jiggy with it.” Play some fun, kid-friendly music and start dancing. Music can get you moving and is a great way to burn some calories! If you’re too embarrassed to dance, I encourage you to get over it! My family has so much fun laughing at me trying to do this hip-hop step that I simply cannot do! They think it’s hysterical. Their laughter is much more valuable than silly pride.
5. Jump rope together. Now this can be an advanced workout and should be done very carefully. If you are out of shape, overweight, have weak joints, or are simply a beginner, you may want to walk in place or gently bounce from foot to foot instead of jumping. If you have your doctor’s permission to do such an activity, jumping rope is a great workout, and your kids might get a kick out of seeing Mom and Dad jumping rope. Even if you don’t own a jump rope, you can pretend you are jumping. The best way to do this workout is to count repetitions. If you run out of air, walk around and then start again. You’ll want to stretch your calves really well before you start. The first time I jumped rope for very long, my calves were screaming at me the next morning. Take it slow!
6. Invest in a basketball goal. Basketball is great exercise! The serious exercisers can play one on one, and the beginners can learn to dribble. Buy a book that teaches shooting games such as “HORSE.”
7. Tend a garden together. Gardening can be a great workout: pulling weeds, digging, hauling around a watering can, etc. It’s not only a great way to get exercise, it’s also great fun to watch a garden grow.
8. What happened to chores? Give each one of the kids some chores that will get them out from in front of the TV. Rotate their chores to be fair. If your daughter prefers sweeping off the driveway and your son prefers washing the car, let them swap chores. If everyone does all their chores for a couple of weeks, reward them. Tell them how proud you are of their diligence and take them for “kids’ night out.” Go play video games, go ice-skating, play putt-putt golf, or rent a special movie and let them have a few friends over. A little work will teach them responsibility, and doing chores together will make them feel like a team.
9. Just gotta watch TV? As you may have guessed, I think TV can be an enemy to an active lifestyle. Ironically, however, one of my favorite things to do is to get into my PJs by about 8:00 P.M. and watch a good movie. Vegging out in front of the TV can be completely relaxing. Of course, the kids bouncing across the bed does affect the mood somewhat. So how can you use TV time to get more fit? Pick a favorite TV show that comes on before you get too tired and compete against the clock. Who can do the most sit-ups, push-ups, leg lifts, or lunge walks during the 2-minute commercial break? Use the next break to drink an extra glass of water. (The loser gets the water, of course.) Alternate exercises during each break. Let the winner get out of a weekly chore.
10. Relax together. (NOTE) This too can be done in front of the TV but would be much better with some relaxing music. Whether you prefer worship music, instrumental, or classical, put on something that will relax you without putting you to sleep. Let each family member pick some favorite stretches that are both safe and effective.
* Do some gentle neck rolls. Starting on one side, hold in a gentle stretch, then gently roll your head forward and to the other side and hold the stretch again. Repeat 4 or 5 times. Do not roll your head to the back.
* Stretch your back. Get on your hands and knees. Arch your back up toward the ceiling like a stretching cat. Hold for 5 seconds and release until your back is straight. Repeat 5 times. Do not arch your back down toward the floor.
* Stretch your hamstrings. Sit up straight on the floor and straighten your legs in front of you. Raise your hands toward the ceiling and with a straight back gently bend forward at the waist. Do not bounce. This can be both painful and somewhat comical if your muscles are very tight. This stretches your hamstrings (the back of the legs) and the back. (When I haven’t done this in a while, it feels as though the back of my thighs are nauseated.) With consistent practice your flexibility should improve. Improved flexibility will make you feel better. Take it slow and add some knew stretches to your workout.
11. Another idea is to join a fitness club or the local YMCA. Take some exercise classes or go swimming together.