Fit Tip: 7 Ways to Get Your Kids Moving

The other day my eleven-year-old son went to lift an eight-pound dumbbell and was mortified that it felt heavy to him. This is my kid we nicknamed Spider Man because he used to easily climb to the top of ropes in gym class in three seconds. Under the pandemic precautions, my kids have become more isolated and therefore less active. They’ve done online schooling since March and the sport they used to do (Ninja Warrior type gym) went out of business. That left them playing video games and watching YouTube videos.

We decided it was time to get moving again. Here are seven things we’ve done in the past month to bring some fitness (and fun) back into our routine.

1. Competitions. My kids are competitive, especially if it means they beat me. We set a timer for one minute to see who could do the most of each exercise: push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks). The winner gets bragging rights until the next day.
2. YouTube Videos. Since they’re on YouTube anyway, I asked them to find some family yoga videos we could do together. Disclaimer: We discovered we are not a downward facing dog type family, but we did laugh a lot.
3. Race to the Park. We put on our masks, grabbed our dog leash and took our English bulldog, Bruno, for a run to the park. There’s something calming about being outside. It helped all of us to be in a better mood and feel a little more…normal.
4. Jump Rope. This was something I used to do for hours as a kid because it was fun. I had no idea it burned so many calories in a short amount of time (200-300 calories in just 15 minutes!) It’s another one of those things that can easily turn into a competition. (How many backward jumps can you do? How fast can you jump? How long can you jump without stopping?)
5. Bike. This is a great way for kids to have an outdoor adventure while they get their hearts pumping and build up endurance.
6. Old School Videos. Nothing makes my kids laugh harder than watching my exercise videos from the 90s. TaeBo anyone? If you still have some of these retro relics in your closet (and a machine that can play them) do a workout together.
7. Obstacle Course. Have your kids set up an obstacle course where they have to go over, under, around and through. This gets all their muscles moving because they have to use their body in different ways. Added bonus: It takes them awhile to set the thing up so you get some “me time” to play on your phone.

The key to get your kids moving is to make it fun so they want to keep doing it. We might be entering a long, dark winter, but spring is coming just around the corner and eventually life will get back to normal.

Hang in there and have fun hanging out with your kids!