With nice weather and leisurely schedules, summer is the perfect time to prioritize fitness. To ensure it doesn't fall by the wayside mid-summer, set fitness goals as a family to get it done. It models healthy habits for your kids and ensures you get in on the action, too! Add some healthy competition to the mix and everyone benefits.
Not sure how to get started? Try these 7 activities that are fun for the whole family.
7 Family Fitness Activities
1. Take evening walks.
Build evening family walks into your daily schedule - you'll be surprised how much you'll start to look forward to them! Try walking after dinner (and sometimes walk to a destination, like the playground). To make the new routine stick, sit down as a family and decide how many miles you’re going to walk each week. Then set aside the time—and mark it on a calendar—to ensure you stay on track. You can take the same approach with biking and jogging. Want bonus points? Mix things up along the way, with a quick set of push-ups, lunges or squats.
2. Create fitness challenges.
Each week, challenge your family with a new activity. From push-ups and sit-ups to bench-pressing younger (and smaller) family members, the options are almost limitless. The first week, for example, you might challenge each family member to a certain number of push-ups, adjusting the goal based on age and fitness level. Then, work through each of the large muscle groups with a different activity each week (think sit-ups, lunges and squats). By switching areas each time, you’ll work out the entire body over the course of a month.
3. Sign up for a racing event.
Team up with your children and participate in a charity run - and have the whole family start training for it now. If you have an event three months out, you have a goal to train for and family members can hold each other accountable. You can even recruit other families (cousins, friends and co-workers) to get in on the action. In the process, you’ll not only model the value of exercise, but also the power of giving back.
Go Where The Pros Go
4. Start a weekly sports night.
Get a few families involved in a standing game of soccer or flag football. Team sports not only help kids hone the skills they've learned in gym class, they also build social skills. By hosting a team sport, family fitness will feel less like formal exercise and still provide a solid workout.
5. Head out for a beach/pool day.
Swimming is a great way to switch up your fitness routine - and for kids, it's already something they love to do in the summer. Have swim races or play water games - but be sure to join them in the fun (don't just lounge in a beach chair on the sidelines!).
6. Research fun family hikes.
There's nothing like exploring new trails in the outdoors to get everyone excited about exercising. Take weekend day trips to new hiking trails, bring plenty of snacks, refreshments (plus mosquito and tick repellent!) and enjoy.
7. Consider active video games.
Keeping screen time to a minimum is a solid goal year-round - and especially when the weather is nice - but eliminating screen time completely is often unrealistic. Instead of turning off the tube completely, consider using screens to pursue a healthy activity—something that gets kids off the couch during the lazy days of summer. Interactive games like simulated golf, tennis or even dancing may be just the gateway your child needs to tackle more real-world physical pursuits.
Benefits of Family Fitness
Making fitness a family goal creates built-in accountability and friendly competition. Kids feel empowered because it’s not just you telling them to get moving; they can tell you it’s time for your family soccer game or that you’re ahead of them on this week’s walking steps. The key, of course, is setting aside time to stay active and engaged as a family.
Draw up a schedule and put it on a whiteboard, create an online calendar for the whole family, or take advantage of fitness apps so you can track each other’s progress. Then grab your gang and get moving!
