Family Friendly Ways to Have Fun and Stay in Shape

With the beginning of the school year and those social calendars filling up, exercise and family time are two things that are often forgotten in the shuffle. But both of these activities can be accomplished easily and without a big time commitment!

Here are 8 simple ideas of healthy and fun things to do as a family that will get the kids some added exercise and provide you more time for your family to spend together.

Go for before or after dinner walks

Whether it’s just a short stroll around the block or a more rigorous jog around the neighborhood, adding some light exercise into your schedule is always a good thing. Right before or after dinner are great times when the weather isn’t too hot or cold!

Turn up the music and dance

Move your furniture and blast some of your family’s favorite tunes! Dancing is a great way to sneak in some exercise, while your kids are just having a good time.

Make household chores fun

Turn cleaning the floor, dusting, folding laundry or any other household chore into a fun game for kids. Then, you will get these chores knocked out quickly, spend some family time together and get your kids away from the TV and video games.

Sneak workouts into other activities

Make smart, daily choices that get kids in a healthier mindset. Make them walk instead of ride in the cart at the grocery store, choose a parking space farther from the door and always use the stairs over the elevator.

Make TV commercials fitness breaks

During TV commercial breaks make-up silly names for exercises like squats, push-ups or sit-ups. Have a contest of who can do the most or who can complete a certain amount the fastest and give stickers or other fun rewards!

Have a weekly sports night

Pick a day of the week and make it family sports night! Pick a different sport each week and get outside and play it! Trust us; it will be the day of the week you look forward to the most!

Work in the yard together

Fall means there will be tons of leaves falling in your yard. Make it a game of who can catch or rake up the most leaves. Or let kids help you in the garden planting bulbs or vegetables.

Walk the dog

If you have a canine companion, take the whole family with you whenever you walk him or her! It’s a great time to catch up on everyone’s day and just relax! And research shows that dog owners have more fun losing weight and are more able to keep the weight off then non-dog owners.

For more family friendly activities for any season, check out this blog on winter activities and this one for more on springtime ideas!

A great place to keep all those things to ensure your family lives an active and exciting life is a Cook Portable Warehouse. Download our free resource below to learn more about why Cook is different from other portable building companies!