10 Tips to Make Fitness a Family Activity

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

09 Jul 2006 11:57 AM

We're always talking about improving our fitness and getting more active. What better way to do that than to make fitness a part of your family's activities in daily life? Here are 10 ways you can make fitness a part of your family's routine and most of them are relatively painless.

1. Start by figuring out what activities is fun for everyone - for example - your son may love his bike and your daughter would rather play on the rock-climbing wall at the park.

2. Plan a group outing/activity every week. Combine quality family time with being physically active. You may want to start out letting mom and dad pick the activities to do, but as kids get older - let them choose their fun.

3. Does someone in the family have allergies? Maybe someone else has an aversion to the heat. Try to build your activities around these so that everyone can participate - there's plenty of indoor sports and fitness activities including bowling - that can be fun and still get you active and out of the heat.

4. Track everyone's progress. Who walked the dog today? Who went out roller blading? Did you go three blocks further on your morning jog?

5. Be sure to include everyone that is if you're going out for a walk - invite others to tag along. They may not go every time - but be sure to make activity time an open door policy that includes everybody.

6. Got a birthday or anniversary coming up? Choose activity based gifts or fitness items for presents.

7. For little kids, buy toys that encourage activity, including wagons, bicycles and sports equipment like balls and mitts.

8. Put a daily time limit on television watching. They can use their allotted time in one block or spread out throughout the day.

9. Don't reward with food - reward with more physical activity. Kids did great on their chores? Take them to the park or take them swimming!

10. Does your kid enjoy the mall? Go for a mall crawl together. You don't have to go to the mall just when you want to buy anything. Sometimes you can go just to wander around and window shop.

The family that plays together stays together. The active family gets the benefits of the physical activity and the closeness of spending time with each other. What do you do to get your family up and moving?

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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