How to Create a Family Fitness Plan

It's never too early to develop healthy lifestyle habits that will reduce harmful cholesterol levels, but maintaining an active lifestyle can be difficult without support. So why not involve your family? Exercising with your family gives you all the chance to get outside and become closer while getting and staying healthy. Below, we've got four tips that can help your family develop a fun fitness plan together!

 

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. 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!

 

4. 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.