Personal Fitness Challenge - How Does Your Family Measure Up?

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

06 Jan 2007 08:21 PM

When I was at my daughter's gymnastics class this morning, I started talking to one of the other parents. Our daughters attend the same kindergarten class together and we were doing what moms do - swapping stories about our children. We were talking about the fact that we encouraged our kids to participate in dance classes, gymnastics and more, not to make them into professional athletes but instead to promote an active lifestyle and the enjoyment of it. That got me to thinking.

Fitness is Really a Family Affair

In an effort to promote fitness for yourself, consider the example that you set for your children and the rules that you all follow for yourselves. The following is a quiz that I've prepared for you - my challenge is for you to answer the questions and consider the results in your fitness planning.

Question 1: How often do you work out every week?

• A. At least 3 times a week for 30 minutes at a shot
• B. Once a week with a lot of effort
• C. I think about it a lot
• D. I'm too busy to work out

Question 2: How much time do your children spend in front of the television or computer per day?

• A. They get no more than 1.5 hours combined in front of the television and computer combined
• B. Computer time is limited, but they can watch television whenever they like
• C. Television time is limited, but they can play on the computer as much as they like
• D. I don't really count how much time they spend on either

Question 3: How often do you and your family spend time together doing physical activities?

• A. We go for a walk every night after dinner
• B. I walk the dog every day, sometimes the kids join me
• C. We try to go out biking together a couple of times a month
• D. The kids get to play in the yard sometimes

Question 4: How often do you sit down together at the dinner table?

• A. Every night
• B. A couple of times a week
• C. Once a week, usually on Sunday
• D. We try, but most of the time it's catch as catch can

Question 5: When we're planning a vacation we ...

• A. Want to go somewhere we can get a lot of fun activity in such as swimming and more
• B. Want to stay at a resort that offers fitness opportunities
• C. Want to go to exotic locations
• D. Want to have fun and that's our only concern

Once you've answered the questions, give yourself a 3 for all of the A answers, a 2 for the B answers, a 1 for the Cs and no points for the 0s.

If you scored between 11 and 15, you're in good shape and fitness for the family is a strong motivator for you in your personal and family choices. If you scored between a 6 and a 10, you're doing okay, but you can probably emphasize fitness more in your choices and opportunities. A score of 5 or below and you need to seriously reconsider the types of choices you and your family make with regard to fitness and fitness choices.

How did you do?

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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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