Incorporating Fitness into Your Family’s Daily Routine
Incorporating fitness into your family’s daily routine is a great way to promote a healthy lifestyle and spend quality time together. Here are some tips to help you get started:
Make fitness a priority: Research shows that active parents raise active children, so it’s important to prioritize fitness in your family’s daily schedule
. The American Heart Association recommends that children age six and older get at least an hour of moderate to vigorous activity every day
. This can help them maintain a healthy weight and keep their hearts, brains, and bodies healthy
.
Find activities that everyone enjoys: Look for activities that the whole family can participate in and enjoy. This could include going for walks or bike rides together, playing sports, or even dancing in the living room. By finding activities that everyone enjoys, you’ll be more likely to stick with them.
Incorporate activity into your daily routine: Look for opportunities to incorporate physical activity into your family’s daily routine. This could include taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking or biking to school or work, or doing household chores together. Small changes like these can add up and make a big difference
.
Set goals together: Have your family establish goals that everyone can achieve together. This can help create a sense of accountability and motivation. Start with small, achievable goals and gradually increase them over time
.
Make it a game: Turn fitness into a fun game for the whole family. Create a deck of fitness exercise cards using standard playing cards, where each suit represents a different exercise (e.g., push-ups, crunches, jumping jacks, squats)
. Let your child pick a card, then do as many of the assigned activity as the card states. This can make exercise more enjoyable and engaging for everyone.
Log your activity: Keeping a record of your family’s workouts and fitness progress can increase commitment and hold everyone accountable to their routine. It can also be encouraging to look back at how far you’ve come
.

• Previous Entry: The Physical Benefits of Exercise
• Next Entry: Choosing the Perfect Fitness Logo: What You Need to Know