Fitness Friday – 5 Ways to Make Family Fitness Fun!

It’s the holidays and the kids will be home for a few weeks so why not make this special time a fit time as well?

In today’s Fitness Friday I share a few simple ideas to make getting and staying fit as a family fun fun and rewarding.

So grab your hubby and the kids and get ready to sweat!

Freeze Dance

Who doesn’t like a good dance party?  Just move the furniture out of the way, cranks your favorite tunes and get moving!

When I teach young kids I often get them involved in a game of freeze dance to warm up. It’s such a fun way to get them moving and I love the rolling laughter that always comes with it.  When we play freeze dance I give them specific instructions while the music is on to get them working on different muscle groups and engage their thinking skills at the same time.

“Jump like a monkey!”  “Swim like a dolphin” “Walk like a bear”

I may also give specific commands when we freeze like “Touch your elbow to a friend’s knee” “Find a partner and get back to back”  “Put one foot on a mat”

You can incorporate BURST or HIIT principles and use a timer for your dance / freeze intervals and decide on a set “workout time”.

There are so many ways to keep this game fresh and fun and I’ll sure you’ll have many to share with me as well

Jump Rope Wars

So many athletes train with a jump rope because it’s an awesome way to get fit.  Make sure your knees are up to this and that you have a great pair of sneakers.

You can take turns and count how many turns each jumper jumps, have each member of the family grab a rope and see who can jump the longest without, use two ropes for double dutch… the possibilities are truly endless.

I love taking a BURST approach to jumping rope.  It gets my heart pumping and allows me to jump a lot longer than I would other wise.

Here are a few fun ways to jump:

• Jump with 2 feet as high as you can
• Skip
• Skip with high knees
• Jump as fast as you can
• Jump on one foot, the the next
• Jump crossing the rope as you spin it
• Jump high and spin the rope twice while in the air

Medicine Ball Toss

This is a fun game to play indoors on a rainy day or when outside temperatures are just too low to lure you out.

You’ll need a good medicine ball of a weight that makes sense for the size and age of your children. We use a 10 lb. ball.

Get everyone into a circle. You can make it as big or small as you need to keep the ball moving. With older kids, toss the ball from one family member to another. Go in a circle or keep it free so no ones knows where the ball is going next.  Play around with the way you toss and catch, overhead, underhand, straight out from your chest… Bend your knees as you throw and catch… changes places with someone in the circle while the ball is in the air… Want to focus on your core?  Have everyone sit, feet touching and play a game of sit ups, passing the ball from player to player each time you sit up. There are so many fun things you can do with this so have fun.

For little ones you can roll the ball on the ground until they are ready to throw and catch.

Trampoline Bounce

Bouncing on a trampoline is one of the best forms of exercise  you can do. In addition to giving you a great cardio workout it strengthens your bones. In fact many doctors recommend that women jump for 15 minutes a day to prevent osteoporosis. Jumping on a trampoline is also an amazing leg workout, develops a strong core as you work to stabilize in the air and promotes great body and spacial awareness. And let’s not forget, it’s an absolute blast!

Take turns jumping as high as you can or as long as you can without loosing your balance, play a game of “duck, duck, goose”…

Here’s a fun routine to challenge yourself and your kids with:

• Straight jump — stand tall, jump staying straight, arms above your head, toes pointed as you push off
• Tuck jump — start in a straight jump and as you reach the top of your jump bring your knees to your chest
• Pike Jump — start in a straight jump and as you reach the top of your jump bring your legs straight in front, bending at the waist to form an “L” with your body
• Straddle Jump — start in a straight jump and as you reach the top of your jump bring your legs to the side in a straddle

If you are comfortable with the trampoline and have great body control or have a little gymnast in your midst you can add more difficult tricks but make sure you can do those safely before you attempt anything new.

Airplane (Foot Balancing)

We’ve all done this countless times with our babies. Lie on your back and place your little one on your feet to make him fly!
My girls still love this game and yes we still “play” it, even with my 17 year old and it has taken on a whole life of it’s own.
Set aside 15 to 20 minutes to Fly. You’ll be amazed what a rewarding workout it can be, especially with an older child. Mom and child get an awesome workout continuously engaging your core so as not to topple over.

My 7 year old begs me to play this with her all the time. We now come up with fun routines where the challenge is to move from one position to another without coming down, or even come up with interesting tricks from a standing position. .Yep it’s a tough workout for me, great for my abs and legs, since she weighs about 50 lbs. now. But we always have a fabulous time and laugh our little hearts out.

Make sure you choose a safe place, clear of objects you could impact.

Try this on your trampoline for an even more challenging core workout!

These are just a few ideas to get you moving together. Make sure to also enjoy the beautiful outdoors whenever you can, for a family hike or bike ride or a fun day of skiing or snowboarding.

Have fun!

What are some of your favorite ways to stay fit as a family?