Getting the whole family to stay active and healthy doesn’t always have to be as difficult as you think. Some of the best ways to stay close as a family are to do things together; including exercise and have fun while doing it. The Canada Active Living Guide recommends 30 minutes of moderate exercise everyday to stay healthy and fit. Below are some ideas to make it fun for the whole family and get you off to a “running” start to staying active together.
Family Hike/Walking Adventure
Take the family to the local park or a wooded trail for a hike/walk. Make it fun by adding the task of a scavenger hunt to the hike/walk. Write a list, and you all have to do your best to find the items on it. Be creative, ex. Pine cones, leafs, rocks, spot a bird or a squirrel etc. Make each adventure a little bit more challenging by picking a new trail that might be slightly more difficult or add fun mini races against each other throughout the hike making it a little harder.
Swimming
Going to your local pool is great exercise for every one of all ages and is a fun day for the whole family. Make it fun by showing your little ones the doggy paddle, blowing bubbles or the back stroke depending on age. This is the perfect activity to do together and get’s those muscles working all the while.
Biking
Going for a bike ride is a great cardio workout and strengthens not only your legs but your core. If you don’t all own a bike you can rent them at your local bike store for fairly in expensive for either a day fee or a couple hours. Take the bikes to local trails and everyone can get some fresh air and enjoy the scenery together.
Playing Together
It doesn’t matter if you go to the soccer field and have a family scrimmage and kick the ball around, play tennis or basketball as a family or even go to the park and play grounders or tag on an open field. Either way you are incorporating exercise and having fun at the same time.
These are just some basic ideas that kick start your kids off to a healthy active lifestyle without even realizing it. As an added bonus these suggestions won’t break the bank and you’ll get to workout with the whole gang together.