Fun in Home Family Fitness

Mom and Dad, 

Working out as a family is fun and comes with lots of benefits to you and your kids! Did you know that the Center for Disease Control recommends adults participate in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week? Research has shown that benefits of meeting this minimum include decreased risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and hypertension (just to name a few).

The recommendation is for children to participate in at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily. What better way to satisfy these guidelines than with family workouts?

Mom and dad, you can satisfy your physical fitness quota while your kids burn off some extra energy. Everyone wins!

While any movement beats a sedentary alternative, here are two great family fitness games that you guys can play- no gym or equipment necessary.

1. UNO Fitness

This game shakes up a traditional UNO game. You start by drawing a card from the deck. There will be a corresponding exercise related to the color and number of UNO card. Each player will complete the exercise with the number of repetitions being the cards face amount. You will continue with drawing cards and completing the corresponding exercises until the entire deck of cards has been played/completed. The card break down is below: 

Red- Push Ups Skip- Jog in place for 1 minute
Yellow- Mountain Climbers Reverse Card- High knees for 30 seconds
Blue- Sit Ups
Green- Lunges
Draw 2- Draw 2 cards, add up their face value and complete the number of repetitions from the corresponding exercise of the color of the draw 2 card.
Draw 4- Draw 4 cards and doo all four of the exercises from each card.
Wild Card- Rest for 1 minute

2. Tabata Workout

Low on time but still want to get a quick and fun workout in? Create your own Tabata workout. This kind of workout follow a strict 2-to-1 work-rest principle where you complete eight rounds of an exercise following the following scheme: 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest. The great thing about Tabata workouts is that you can add as many calisthenics movements as you would like (or resistance exercises as you would like if you have weight lifting equipment). Give this workout a spin with your family:

Air Squats: 8 rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest
Rest 1 minute
Lunges: 8 rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest
Rest 1 minute
Push Ups: 8 rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest
Rest 1 minute
Sit Ups: 8 rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest

Not so bad huh? With taking time to warm up and stretch, you are done with your family Tabata workout within 30 minutes! Remember, you can modify this workout to your liking by adding new exercises and movements. 

Happy Family Training!