Youth Sports Awareness Week: How Mountain Ice Can Help You Stay Active with Your Family This Summer

Youth Sports Awareness Week is about increasing youth participation in sports and access to athletic programs, but it's also about teaching families the value of an athletic lifestyle. When school's out, this doesn't always mean a sports program - you can get regular physical activity while having fun with your family! Below, we've got eight tips on how to bring your family together for exercise and how you can keep up with your kids by using Mountain Ice Pain Relief Gel and Mountain Ice Sports Recovery Gel.

1. Think About Your Interests 

It's hard to get everyone interested in the same activities, but it's not impossible! All it takes is a little careful planning and elimination of what doesn't work for you and your family. For instance, if you have a child who doesn't like football, then trying to form a family football team is probably not the best idea. Save your energy, skip that battle, and instead look for something that everyone might enjoy. Brainstorm ideas together, write out each contribution, then narrow the list from there. Some things you can do together can include: bike riding, building obstacle courses in your home or backyard, going for a nice and easy jog, set up a mini boot camp competition, with each member leading different activities. Whatever you decide to do, have fun and be creative!

2. Mix it Up

Don't let your routine become a rut. There are plenty of fun things to do together, so mix it up every so often! These don't have to be major changes, but can be something as simple as switching from push ups to planks once a week. Or, it can be something completely different once in a while, such as playing tennis instead of soccer. Keep it fresh and keep checking in with your family to see if everyone is still having fun!

3. Yard Games

The warm summer weather makes it the perfect time to bring out lawn games, especially for afternoons where everyone would rather relax at home. Favorites like ladder toss, cornhole (and other bean bag games), ring toss, and bocce ball are always available in stores during the season. Hotter days are great opportunities for water balloons and squirt guns (if you're uncomfortable with guns, you may want to look at foam water blasters, essentially pool noodles that spray water). You can build a backyard obstacle course for kids who like a challenge, or you can always encourage them to try to invent their own games that the whole family can play using a box of common outdoor toys like balls and pool noodles.

One of the coolest trends in lawn games in recent years has been oversized, outdoors versions of classic board games. You can buy giant versions of games like Connect Four, Jenga, and Dominoes that are meant to be played on the lawn, or if your family likes crafting, you can get together to build your own!

4. Experience Nature

Yard games are always fun, but some days you might want a change of scenery. Nature trails, public and state parks, hiking trails, zoos, and even beaches are sites where you can stay active and teach your children about nature at the same time. You can go on an insect hunt, fish, go birdwatching, or visit a plant nursery or flower garden.

5. Incorporate Yard Work

No one enjoys chores, especially kids, but you can make them more fun by getting together as a family and approaching them like a game or a chance to do interesting projects together. Plant a vegetable garden together and show them how to cook with what they've grown (you may even be able to plant a pumpkin you can carve for Halloween!). Decorate your fence with DIY craft projects like hanging planters for flowers, make rock gardens, plant trees, and build and decorate simple backyard walkways. Let your children take part in projects that let them express their personality and teach them how their work can improve their home.

6. Rest Days

It's okay to have a rest day! In fact, you will probably need one. Pick a day during the week where you all can take a break to recharge your batteries, then get back on track the next day!

7. Commitment

Staying committed to your new routine is essential if you and your family want to see progress, or every excuse will become a reason to skip a workout. If the fun of your games and programs aren't satisfying enough, consider setting up a reward system for each workout. Make progress charts, and once one of you hit your goal, you get a reward - such as a "get out of chores free" card, which would most likely be a huge motivation for the kids! Most important, play around and see what works best for you and your family to stay motivated.

8. Pain Relief to Get You Moving Again

Do you need help moving more? Many of us are getting used to exercise again. Mountain Ice is here to help! No matter what your activity level is, we've got a Mountain Ice variety that will help relieve your aches and pains and let you enjoy the warmth and fun of spring:

• Pain Relief Gel: The perfect blend of rich ingredients formulated to relieve pain, reduce inflammation, improve circulation, and promote better nerve and joint healing.
• Sports Recovery Gel: Our unique formula relieves pain, reduces swelling, prevents muscle spasms, and speeds up recovery from exertion, while enhancing performance and promoting overall muscle health.