The summer is going fast! Take advantage of the remaining days by spending time as an active family and have no regrets.
5 Ideas to Get Your Crew Motivated and Moving!
Scavenger Hunt on Bike or Foot — As a family come up with 10 items to collect or challenges to perform. For example: pick a purple flower, take a picture in front of Starbucks, get the signature of a neighbor, pose in a picture a picture with a dog (not your own), take a video of you swinging on a park swing, find the sports page from today’s newspaper (not from your house), etc. Split into teams, wear a backpack, grab a phone and/or camera and make a time to return back home. See how much fun it will be to walk, run, or bike from place to place while bonding with each other as a family!
Water Day — Pick a day when it’s nice and hot outside. Instead of chilling in the air conditioning, hop outside and arm your family with some fun water toys–super soakers, water balloons or a slip and slide. Play water gun tag, have a water balloon toss and/or tag, run and slide—and don’t forget to assign judges to award the most creative slide. Running around and staying cool will surely make for a fantastic family afternoon.
Car Wash — Who doesn’t need their car washed? I think washing the car as a family is a fun way to work together, use your muscles (legs, core, arms) and cool off (hint to whoever is in charge of the hose)! Don’t forget to vacuum and clean the inside!!
Set a Family Weekend Mileage Goal — Decide as a group how many steps or how much time you can accumulate over a weekend by either walking or running together. You can walk to an activity, or to do an errand, or you can just walk as a form of exercise. My friend is an avid runner and she started to take her 8-year-old daughter for a portion of her “run.” They are up to 3 miles! Wow! Yes, they walk some of it, but it’s fun to see how happy she gets when she’s made it a bit further each time. Goals will do that!!
Family Olympics — Pair up with another family or two. Create a day of events:
- Hula Hoop Contest
- Popo Stick Contest
- 50-Yard Dash
- Relay Race
- Obstacle Course
- Basketball Shoot Out
Take this as far as you want…make it an annual event. Have each family bring healthy snacks to refuel. Don’t forget to make a “trophy” for the winning family!
Hope you will enjoy these active days. Stretch them out into the fall season. It’s great to be together outdoors!
Want more tips for staying in shape? Visit Dana’s blog for her “Move of the Week,” fitness tips, inspiration and more or connect with her on Twitter @DPEverybodyfit or Facebook!
