With the release of Women In Sport’s new campaign to encourage mom’s and daughters to #TimeTogether to get daily exercise, I thought this would be an opportune time to blog about how my family is active together.
According to research in the UK, “currently, only 42% of teenage girls meet physical activity guidelines and just under a third of girls (32%) are inactive, engaging in less than an average of 30 minutes activity per day, while 32% of mums stated that they couldn’t prioritise time for exercise as they were too busy looking after other people,” said the article by Women in Sports. In the United States, numbers of inactivity are also high. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services , 28.0% of Americans, or 80.2 million people, aged six and older are physically inactive.
Remember that exercise can take all forms from a dance party to riding bikes to school. Here are some quick tips on how my family is active together.
- Take Advantage of the Seasons/ Weather- If you love the stars, take an evening hike to a dark spot to catch an annual meteor shower. Take advantage of the extra daylight of summer and play old school childhood games. A snowy day home from school means a date on the sledding hill. Hot Cocoa never tasted so good after some outdoor ice skating. Throw in some exercise during a day at the beach with some paddling. A favorite way for my family to see holiday decorations is by taking a “spooky” or “festive” walk or bike ride to check out the blow ups and lights. We take a hike to the Boulder Star every year during the holidays.
- Involve a Pet– If you have a dog, encourage that you take family walks because not only do you need exercise, so does your pup. Get out in the backyard and play with your furry friend as a family too to burn some extra calories.
- Mix it up– Switching up how you exercise can keep things fun and fresh. Shoot some hoops one day and play some tennis the other. Lift weights together on Monday and go for a hike on Tuesday. There are endless ways to mix it up to keep moving.
- Take Active Brain Breaks– While many families are learning online and parents are working from home, it is easy to sneak in a little exercise during break/down time. Some of our favorite things to do are a Go Noodle workout, a Kids Bop dance workout on YouTube or taking a bike ride.
Adventure On,
Courtney
Adventures With My Little Ray 