(can also be viewed with graphics at
https://isolatorfitness.com/blog/family-fitness-stay-active/)
Don’t let the kids have all of the fun out in the sun, hunting for Easter eggs, jumping in puddles, and playing games with their siblings and friends this spring! Get out of the house and enjoy the good weather with them for a little bit of family fitness, and a whole lot of family fun. After a long and cold winter, you know you deserve a little outdoor time too.
Stay Active & Healthy Daily
Dust Off Your Bike
The weather is warmer now, so it’s time to say goodbye to taking short trips by car. Instead dust off your bikes and saddle up for an afternoon adventure. It doesn’t matter whether you’re running errands, headed to work or school, or meeting up with friends; if it’s within a three to five mile radius, ditch the gas gussler and opt for wind in your hair and sun on your skin as you bike your way there instead. Pack up some food and anything you may need for the day in your ISOPack, strap it on your back, and pedal away. No matter where this spring takes you, make sure that you and your family avoid motored machines as forms of transportation to get there. Read more ways to be active in your everyday life here.
Frequent The Farmers Market
We’ll give you a pass for buying your fruits, vegetables, and meats at a grocery store for the past few months, since it may have been a little too chilly to venture outside of temperature controlled buildings. Now that the days are longer and the temperatures are rising though, it’s time to get out to your local farmers market. You aren’t going to find fresher and higher quality produce and meats at a better price than you will at a farmers market. Once you have tasted the difference, you will agree that it is more than worth it to wake up a little early on the weekends, to keep your family eating healthy foods that they’ll love. If you’re lucky and the farmers market is close enough to your house, bike over for a little extra family fitness. Pack up your purchases in your ISOBag to ensure that they stay cold and fresh during the ride back home.
Plant A Vegetable Garden
Sure, flowers are fun to watch grow, and pretty to look at, but vegetables add the value of practicality, which so many of us need when we invest our time into something new. Get your kids involved in the process too for a little lesson on healthy foods and family fitness that will last them a lifetime. When you plant and maintain your own vegetable garden you are investing time into the future reward of being able to eat naturally grown, fresh, GMO free foods, for a fraction of the cost of any grocery store or farmers market. Make sure that you’re harvesting your vegetables at the peak of freshness for optimal flavor and nutrients.
Break Out The Grill
The grill gets a lot of great press in the summer, but spring time meals cooked over an open flame are just as delicious as those cooked in the summer, and the flame isn’t nearly as brutal to be near when the temperature is just a little bit lower. Making sure that your family is eating well all year long, is just as important as making sure that they are maintaining appropriate levels of physical activities. Of course, the grill isn’t just for juicy steaks, or smoky burgers, although learning how to use the grill as a meat smoker was life altering. Switch up your dinner plans or weekly meal prep with grilled sweet potatoes, vegetables, or even fruits. If you have any left overs, use your colorful meal prep containers to help keep them organized for future consumption. Learn more about how to use your grill for multipurpose cooking with our Guide To Becoming a Grill Master.
Stay Active & Healthy On The Weekends
Challenge The Neighbors
Unless you’ve got a family that could rival the Dugger’s in size, you’ll probably need to invite another family or two into your active family game nights. While other families sit inside around a table playing cards and board games, or putting puzzles together, encourage some family fitness on your block by challenging your neighbors to a friendly softball, soccer, football, street hockey, or basketball game. You can even create weekend tournaments if enough families are willing to join. Kids are likely to play pick up versions of these games together anyway, so why not add in a few parents and other adults, and some structured game rules, and make a night of it? On exceptionally hot days, try water balloon dodgeball or water balloon tag, as unique and refreshing twists on two classics.
Play With Chalk
If your kids are young enough to still enjoy coloring on every surface, then take them outside for a little sidewalk chalk fun. While this is a great activity for the reserved artistic child, it can also be a great way for active kids to release a little pent up energy. While hopscotch is a classic, you can also play 4 square, or draw chalk mazes to run, skip, scooter, or bike through. One of my all time favorites though is taking twister outside, by drawing your own twister board in chalk and playing in the driveway. It’s best to make sure that only older kids and adults participate in this game though, as losing your balance and falling on asphalt can be a little more dangerous than other chalk options.
Go Fly A Kite
No we aren’t trying to get rid of you. Flying a kite is actually a great way to incorporate family fitness into your weekend activities, especially when the wind picks up, making it harder to engage in other activities. Since you’ll probably have to go to a local park or field to have enough room to fly your kite, be sure to pack up a healthy picnic lunch for everyone. As long as you have a nice windy day, once you get the kite up into the air it is unlikely that you’ll have to move around much, however it is possible to you’ll want to (especially if you invest in a trick kite). The main movements while flying a kite occur before the kite really gets soaring, while you’re still running through the wind and trying to get it airborne. Additional running may be needed if the kite starts to plummet quickly due to a lack of breeze.
Tap Into Your Inner Child
When you start thinking like a child, you begin to see fun around every corner and you stop thinking about the amount of reps you have to do to see results, or how far and fast you’ll have to run to burn off enough calories for the day. Many adults go to the playground with their children and sit and watch as their kids run around and play, or they take that time to use the park’s outdoor fitness equipment for their own physical benefits, but rarely do they just play. By engaging in play rather than regimented fitness plans, you eliminate the element of “have to” and instead replace it with “want to” which is a much more powerful motivator.
Take A Day Trip
It doesn’t really matter where you go, as long as you get out of your house and go. You could go to the beach to catch some waves, or to the woods for an adventurous hike, or even to an amusement park, and all of these places offer one major plus that your home likely doesn’t. They offer wide open spaces, to explore, roam, and move without electronics or other everyday distractions. Taking the entire day to get away from home, and your normal routine encourages you to be more physically active than you might otherwise be, no matter how good of intentions you have. To avoid spending extra money on food while you’re out for the day, use your ISOBag to pack enough food for the whole family. Add a little excitement to your family fitness day trip by trying out a new activity like kayaking, surfing, horseback riding, or even rock climbing.