Whether you want to find a new, fun, and exciting way to spend time together or are looking to set fitness goals as a family to create a better life for yourselves, there are always more ideas to try out so that you can find success in your journey. With the desire to be active with your family, all you need are some good ideas and commitment, and hopefully you can create healthy habits with your children where you all want to be active together in the future. You may still be wondering “what are some fun fitness activities?” Well, there are a number of activities you can engage in at your own home, a local park, or in natural areas around your neighbourhood.
Ways to stay active at home
Home is where the heart is…and where you can keep the heart healthy too! Even without a big yard, there are some great fitness ideas you can get your family engaged in.
Teaching your kids hula hoops is a really fun way to be active, and you really only need a couple of hula hoops to start having a good time together. Hula hooping requires some coordination, engages muscles that you may not otherwise be using in your daily life, and is a low risk way to get moving. You can start with the traditional way of hula hooping (around the waist) and then start doing other things with them, like using more than one hoop at a time, using your arms, legs, and neck to dance along to your family’s favourite music. Just like the circle that makes up the hoop, the ideas for fun are endless!
Another fun activity you can do at home is jumping rope. Again, all you need is the jump ropes and the desire to play! You can challenge your kids with double under, seeing who can get the most consecutive jumps, or learn double dutch together. Jumping rope is a great way to help build up some stamina in cardio for you and your kids.
Family stretching and yoga can be another fun way to spend time being active together. There are some already well-developed programmes for getting children involved and interested in yoga. Once you are familiar with it, you can use your kids’ creativity to make up new poses. If your family doesn’t have easy access to outdoor spaces, getting down and stretching out in the living room is a great alternative.
Fitness fun at the park
Local parks usually offer green spaces, which are great for playing with your kids. Field games are a great way to get the family moving and involved in a fun activity together.
Playing frisbee is a great way to inspire your family to run around a little bit. You can start by teaching your family the most basic ways to throw a frisbee, learn some of the harder ways to throw, and eventually make up some of your own throws! Incorporating creativity is a fun way to keep physical activity fun for everyone involved. If you and your family are getting to be too good at simple catches and tosses, incorporate a second frisbee or transition into games involving frisbees. Even for young kids, a short disc golf course can be a fun way to spend an afternoon outside as a family.
Family fitness In the great outdoors
If you are lucky enough to live near a natural area take full advantage of your local patches for recreation. Even if you live a bit of a commute away from access to the outdoors, you can make a special event a regular thing for your family to look forward to together. Spending time in nature is not only good for your physical health, but also is important for your mental, emotional, and spiritual development and well-being. Remember, being healthy is multi-faceted and doesn’t revolve around push ups!
