Photo by Md Khairul Hasan
If you have kids, finding the time to exercise with them can be a challenge. They can be feisty, and you’re quite tired. The world is fast-paced, work is heavy, and there are a lot of chores to do.
What happens then when exercise actually does happen is something that’s boring and very time-consuming. And when you’re all done with it, you’re tired and you just end up not wanting to do it again.
However, that doesn’t have to be the case.
Incorporating play and fun into your workout routine can make it an enjoyable experience for everyone!
The Benefits of Fun and Playing in Exercising
Making it so that your activities are playful can bring a great improvement to your physical health and mental well-being. Standing up and making moves, this way and that, can get your veins pumping, improving broader cardiovascular health, strengthening muscles, and increasing flexibility. When the blood is circulating properly and the nerves are relaxed, exercise can be shown to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. Parents and children exercising together also boosts mood and reinforces bonds, promoting positive emotions between everyone. When activities like these are done consistently and with enthusiasm, lasting memories are made, and the family becomes much, much stronger.
Perhaps an oft-spoken benefit of fun and playing while exercising is the increased creativity that comes with it. If their mind is active and their mood is high, there’s a lot a child can be creative with. Exercise can be wonderfully stimulating for the mind.
Photo by Somat Doriya
How to Have A Day of Amusing Work
There are as many ways of making exercise amusing as there are people around the globe. Everyone has their own ideas on how to exercise in a way that makes it enjoyable for them, but you may want to know where to begin. Here are some ideas that you may want to sit down with your kids and have a talk about.
Fun and Playing Outdoors
Nature walks can be extremely fun. Exploring your local parks, forests, or beaches while taking in the clean air of nature can be exhilarating and healthy for the body. Either barefoot or on a bike, it will be a wonderful experience.
As you’re enjoying the vibrant outdoors, you can punctuate your excursions with healthy picnics.
Outside, there are a lot of events you can consider, such as swimming, hiking, rock climbing, and more.
Fun and Playing with Family
For activities that have a more definite goal in mind, there are plenty that a family can dive into and have fun. Tag is a classic and can be played indoors or outdoors. Hide-and-seek is also fun and involves knowing the layout of your house; or, if you like, you can even do it in other places. Charades are also enjoyable and a bit less “labor-intensive.”
Sports can also be good exercise. Playing in teams helps strengthen understanding between each other, and it also improves coordination and teamwork. Basketball, soccer, tennis, and volleyball are good games, to name a few.
Fun and Playing Creatively
If you want to do something that’s more creative, there’s a lot of activities you can do too. This is great because it makes you move and sweat while also letting you do little projects together with kids. Gardening, arts and crafts and others can both be intellectual, physical and fun!
Photo by Valeria Ushakova
Adding Amusement in Exercising
Before you start something, you should start small. Be realistic. Beginning with something that’s achievable helps you and your kids acclimate gradually. Increase the intensity of your activities slowly, and always ask your kids for their opinions. Make it a group effort! Encouraging everyone to participate makes the activity all the more fun.
Schedule your activities and stick to a time.
Gamify your exercise. When you gamify things, you make it into a game. You set challenges and have a system for giving scores. This also helps shake things up to prevent boredom from seeping in.
And lastly, remember to reward yourself and your children for reaching whatever goals you’ve set for yourselves.
Incorporating play and fun into exercise makes it more enjoyable and rewarding. If you’re still not sure where to start, Kristina Orliczky’s book with physical activities for kids, Mona’s Mitten: A Story to MOVE to, is a great start. Click this link to grab a copy now.
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