Tag: kid-friendly workouts

When I was a kid, my parents used to have us participate in what my mom affectionately deemed “forced family fun times,” where we would all get outside and get moving together. Mostly, we went on bike rides around the neighborhood and to local parks, though I also remember a few 5k Fun Runs and playing soccer or tennis at the park.

Although we all complained at varying times about our “forced family fun,” (teenagers are waaayy too cool for family time, *insert eye roll emoji*), my siblings and I generally had a blast and look back on these memories fondly! We didn’t realize it at the time, but my parents were intentionally carving out time to get us outdoors and moving in the early 2000s home video gaming console boom. I’m sure this helped burn off some of that zealous kid energy, especially on long, summer days of no school, but it also created healthy habits of movement that have lasted through to adulthood.

Getting your kids to join you for your workouts, or doing whatever you can to move together as a family, not only promotes bonding for the whole family, but also instills a love of fitness and lays a solid foundation for lifelong healthy habits for your little ones!

The Importance of Family Workouts

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), recommends that all adults are physically active for a minimum of 30 minutes at least five days a week. This is the target movement amount for typically healthy adults who are looking to maintain general health and muscle mass.

For children, the ACSM recommendations for healthy muscle and bone development are much higher. Children aged 6-17 years old are recommended to have at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily, and children aged 3-5 years old are recommended to engage in active playtime in amounts as tolerated throughout the entirety of their day.

Participating in daily physical activity helps protect against chronic conditions and obesity-related diseases, as well as maintaining sufficient heart and lung health, muscle mass, and bone mineral density. In addition to the clear physical benefits of activity, exercise also has natural mood-boosting and stress-reducing properties due to the hormonal releases that occur with physical activity. Most importantly, perhaps, exercising as a family is a wonderful way to bond and an excellent opportunity to champion your children’s health as well as teach them how to take ownership of their health as they mature.

Fun Workout Ideas for Families

Outdoor Activities

• local hikes (we love the AllTrails app to find hiking paths and see their difficulty ranking, distance, and other important planning info for families, such as whether the trail is kid-friendly, stroller-friendly, or pet-friendly!)
• neighborhood walks
• biking through the neighborhood or at local parks
• playing tag or hide-and-seek
• jump rope or hop scotch
• playing on jungle gyms at local parks

Indoor Activities

• family dance parties – choreographed or impromptu!
• “mazes” or “obstacle courses” with household items and furniture
• building a fort of couch cushions and blankets
• yoga and stretching

Sports and Games

• if your kids are involved in local little league or team sports, consider volunteer coaching or reffing their teams to get involved and model an active lifestyle for your kids!
• play family-friendly sports together, such as soccer, basketball, volleyball, etc
• create Family Olympics with your kids’ favorite games and sports, or make up your own games to play!

Incorporating Physical Activity into Your Daily Routine

• walk to school rather than drive (as the weather and distance permits)
• walk the dog together
• have family dance parties while doing mundane things such as cooking or folding laundry
• race from the car to the door
• balance on one foot while brushing teeth
• do jumping jacks during commercial breaks when watching TV
  • or, for streaming services: do 5 jumping jacks every time the main character’s name is said

Making Workouts Engaging for Kids

If you are worried about getting your kids on board with your new family workout plan, keep 3 important things in mind: focus on making the workouts fun, keep activities age-appropriate, and get creative with incentives!

Making Workouts Fun

• ensure activities are age-appropriate, typically catering to the youngest child’s physical capabilities and attention span
• try team activities and compete kids versus parents
• keep the mood light – this isn’t about setting a new PR for yourself, it’s about encouraging your kids to enjoy activity!

Suggestions for Age-Appropriate Activities

Plan to cater to the age of your youngest child with age-appropriate activities

Children 3 – 5 years old

• red light / green light walks or hikes
• I Spy walks or hikes
• trips to the local playground
• indoor play houses (tunnels, ball pits, trampolines, etc)

Children 6 – 10 years old

• Treasure Hunts with hidden household objects
• introductory team sports
  • soccer: practice kicking, passing, or defending the goal
  • basketball: practice shooting and dribbling
  • tennis: practice swinging and hitting the ball
  • baseball: practice catching and throwing the ball
• bike rides
• three-legged races
• potato sack races (you can also use oversized pillow cases instead of potato sacks)

Children 10+

• team sports
• races and runs (you can use FindARace.com to search for local fun runs to participate in as a team! Or, just race with each other through your local neighborhood or park!)
• introductory strength training (practicing form on squats, push-ups, planks, etc and moving to light weights when appropriate)

Creative Incentives

• have small rewards for competitions and team sports
  • small rewards ideas:
    • the family goes out for ice cream
    • kid coupon books
      • “coupons” for your kids like get to skip a chore of your choosing, pick what’s for dinner tonight, get to sleep in, get to pick the movie tonight, etc
• a “fitness chart” – like a chore chart that can be filled in when activities are completed (daily or weekly) and filled charts can be turned in for a bigger reward
  • bigger reward ideas:
    • the family goes out to dinner
    • get a new sports or exercise-related toy or game (new soccer ball, new baseball glove, hula hoops, jump ropes, etc)
    • new workout clothes or shoes
• have a Family Olympics Day with gold, silver, and bronze medals (you can get actual medals to use, or something fun like chocolate coins!)

Creating a Family Fitness Plan

When creating a plan around getting your family moving, it’s important to be realistic about what will and won’t work for you as a family. Be sure to take into consideration things like your individual family member’s preferences and energy levels when scheduling a time for your workout. For example, if your kids are always up early with a ton of energy to burn, a post-breakfast hike or games at the park may work well for you! Make it exciting by marking it in a bright color on your calendar, or using stickers to help it stand out as a fun thing to do together.

Get your kids involved in the process by asking them to help you come up with fitness-related goals you can reach together each week. **Please never give children weight loss goals! If your child’s pediatrician has recommended they lose weight, encourage your kids to engage in fun activity and choose healthy foods with the appeal of having plenty of energy to play and grow, rather than focusing on weight loss.**

We recommend instead focusing on what are known as process goals. Process goals are an easily definable goal that focuses on the method or acitivty used to reach your desired outcome, while product goals center on the end result. Good examples of process goals sound like:

• Play outside 3 times this week
• Run 3 laps at the park
• Do 2 family workouts together this week
• Take a walk together 4 nights after dinner

Once you have clear, achievable process goals, set a time for the workouts and activities and get excited! Remember, your kids will follow your lead on this – if you or your partner/co-parent are annoyed, rather than excited, and completing the family workouts reluctantly and with a grumble or complaint, your kids will adopt the same attitude towards your family workouts, and likely fitness in general. Even if you have to fake it til you make it, try to stay positive and enthusiastic about your family workout time! The more you model healthful behaviors and a positive attitude about sticking to them, they easier it will become to get your kids engaged and excited too.

Combining physical activity with family time to promote fitness and family bonding is such a powerful combination that can leave a lasting impression on your kids for a lifetime! If you’re interested in getting into family workouts but are unsure of how or where to start, let us know and we’d love to help you come up with ideas! Remember to start small and be encouraging and enthusiastic. Look for ways to incorporate activity and healthful behaviors into your daily routines, and celebrate each small win and milestone together! Do you and your family have family workouts? Share your experiences in the comments below!