Outdoor Fitness: Special Report
With all of the expensive diet and fitness programs available today, outdoor fitness there is one thing everyone agrees upon – not only is Exercise the best way to maintain a healthy heart, lower cholesterol, and reduce stress; but it is the only thing that is free and easy to accomplish.
With the summer fast approaching, we will talk about a variety of outdoor fitness activities that will not only help a family stay fit and active, but have fun as well. Also included will be some indoor activities that will accomplish several goals.
Perhaps the most important aspect about exercise is that if your family has not been active, a good place to begin is to discuss why exercise is so important. This doesn’t require any statistical evidence, but is the foundation upon which your family may begin to understand its benefits.
Indoor Fitness Tips
While the kids are looking forward to their summer break, there will be days when inclement weather will keep everyone at home. To this end, here are a few suggestions on how you can incorporate exercise and helping mom with the chores.
Make a list of the chores that have to be done and have each member of the family select the one they would like to tackle. For example, one can help with dusting the furniture; another can help vacuum; dad can clean out the garage; the kids can clean their rooms and make their beds (age appropriate).
Put on a favorite CD the whole family enjoys, and dance as you dust or vacuum. Play musical chairs afterwards!
In lieu of chores, why not gather in the family room and play Simon Says with the kids. Incorporate stretching exercises as part of the game.
Perhaps you can have a contest where everyone has to jump rope. Whoever jumps the most, wins a prize. This is a great cardiovascular workout.
If you have a treadmill in your home, you can also have a contest to see how many miles each member of the family can walk on the treadmill.
Kids love to play, so why not include the exercise component as often as you can. If they come up with a creative game they want to play, encourage them and engage in the game with them.
Put away the remote controls, the video games, and shut down the computer. Designate rainy days as fun days for exercising at home!
Fitness Tips for Children of All Ages
Infants: Initially, infants will learn to sit, stand, and roll over before they begin to walk. Encouraging these motor skills will set the proper course for them to properly develop. As you watch over them, limit the time they spend in strollers, walkers, swings, and car seats.
Toddlers: By this stage, toddlers will start to walk run, climb, and jump. It is recommended that they receive at least 30 minutes of exercise a day.
Preschoolers: Hand/eye coordination will be one of the skills they develop at this age. Allow for up to one hour of activity a day for this group of children.
School-Age Children: This group of children will be physically ready to engage in some type of moderate exercise. It is recommended that up to one hour of physical exercise daily is appropriate. Adolescents: The physical activity recommended for this group should comprise at least one a day of running, biking, or sports. If they are enrolled in an after-school program that includes such sports as basketball, tennis, soccer or softball; they meet the daily requirement. Outdoor Fitness
One of the best places to enjoy outdoor fitness exercise and have fun is by engaging in some good old-fashioned yard work. Before you all get started, play a game of Simon Says to allow for everyone to stretch and get pumped up for the day’s event. Have plenty of Water on hand for everyone to drink before you start working.
Get out the rakes, garbage bags, trimmers, hoes, seedlings, and watering can. Gather the family together and assign a task to each member. Ask one of the children to rake the leaves; ask another to help you plant seeds and water; and have dad mow the lawn. This is a great outdoor fitness exercise for the entire family. For the smaller children, allow them the pleasure of jumping up and down in the pile of leaves. Afterward they can stuff them into the garbage bag. After all the work is done, everyone can sit back on the deck or patio and sip freshly made lemonade, beaming with pride over their accomplishments. Moreover, the kids not only spent a morning in the fresh air, but had their daily requirement of outdoor fitness exercise as well. Odds are both you and your husband are feeling pretty good, too!
A Family That Plays Together...
Biking: Bike riding is a great form of outdoor fitness exercise and, at the same time, explore new areas in your neighborhood. Moreover, larger parks have bike lanes so that pedestrian traffic doesn’t encumber you in any way. Because safety is the number one factor, be sure that everyone has a helmet as well as knee and arm pads to wear. Whether you go for a ride after dinner, or spend a Saturday afternoon at the park; there is nothing more enjoyable for the entire family. Roller Skating: Back when we were children, there weren’t too many roller skating rinks available. We pretty much stayed on our own block. Today, your family can enjoy this outdoor fitness activity either at a local rink or in an area designated for roller skating. Some parks have special areas where you can enjoy this great sport.
Playgrounds: When we were young children, our local parks had a swing, a slide, and a see-saw. Today there are monkey bars and other equipment your kids can enjoy. Spend a day at your local playground where the children can expend all their energy as they run, climb, jump, slide, and swing. You and the older children will certainly benefit from the outdoor fitness exercise as you run after the little ones and swing them to and fro.
Picnic at the Park: Plan to spend a Saturday afternoon at your local park. Prepare a picnic lunch for the family. Bring along a football, soccer ball, baseball, and Frisbee. Spend the day playing every conceivable game you can think of including: hide and seek or tag. Another great idea is to invite another family along so that you can compete with each other in many of the games delineated earlier. Have a Frisbee contest, fly kites, or play a game of touch football to get everyone’s adrenalin running. End the day with a barbecue comprised of healthy and delicious foods for everyone. Who knows, this may become a regular outdoor fitness Saturday afternoon family event.
Hiking: Is there a park or reserve in your area where you can spend the day hiking? If so, this is a wonderful outdoor fitness activity that is educational, fun, and adventurous for the entire family. Bring along a packed lunch where you can stop and enjoy the surroundings. Perhaps there is a lake where the family can go swimming. If you are visiting your state park, make plans to visit there for a day. They always have outdoor activities for children available.
Swimming: Is there a beach or public pool in your area? If so, plan a day at the beach with the family. Here you can enjoy the surf and the sand, build sandcastles, play with a Frisbee or other toys the kids might enjoy. What better way to enjoy the great outdoors than at the beach?
Walking: One of the benefits of walking is that you release the stress, increase cardiovascular Health, lower cholesterol, and lose weight. At a time when obesity has become a pandemic in this country, walking is by far the best form of outdoor fitness exercise for the entire family.Walking at least 30 minutes, three times a week can further benefit the health of your entire family. It’s free and it doesn’t require equipment. Whether you leave the car at home and walk to the local store; take a family walk after dinner; or use the track at the local park; this is one exercise that is highly recommended for everyone, regardless of age. Another idea is to spend a day walking the entire length of the mall. Your teens will love this exercise!
Dancing: Small children love to dance. So if you want to engage them in daily exercise, pop in a CD and let them move to the music. This will also be a great exercise for you as well. If the weather is not conducive to going out, invite some of your children’s friends over for a dance party. Play musical chairs, play Simon Says, and make it an extra special day for the kids to be indoors.
Basketball: If you have a basketball hoop in your back yard, challenge your kids to a game! This is another outdoor fitness exercise that allows for stretching the muscles and offers great cardiovascular workout.
Badminton: If your back yard is large enough, you can set up the badminton net and have a family match. This is a fun outdoor fitness activity for the entire family.
Keep it Fun and Keep it Safe
No matter what outdoor activity you enjoy with your kids, ensure that it is always fun and always safe.
Children mimic their parents. If they see their parents exercising, they will want to do the same. If they notice their parents sitting at the computer for hours, they will want to do the same.
In order for any of these exercises to take root, it is important to start from infancy. Limit TV watching, video games after school and on weekends, computer use; and plan activities that the entire family will enjoy.
If a child wants to spend a day at the park, plan the day. If another child wants to go bike riding; plan the day. Set up a family outing schedule that incorporates everyone’s input on what activity they would most like to do.
Does your family like bowling? Set up a night or afternoon each week where the entire family can go alone or with another family.
The summer months were meant to be enjoyed outdoors. Certainly, there are other outdoor activities you may like to try or some that you have already scheduled as a weekly event.
There are also exercises that offer educational benefits as well. For example, let’s say the family goes on a local nature walk where you may have located a specific species of bird. Well, you can take it one step further by going to the library and finding out all there is to know about the bird. In addition, you can help the kids build a bird house for the back yard.
Does dad enjoy fishing? Maybe the kids would love to spend a day fishing with dad. If you are fishing off a pier or at a nearby, park further away so that you will have to walk a good distance. Exercise, remember?
Exercise provides for cardiovascular benefits, strength, endurance, and flexibility. While this report has focused mainly on how exercise benefits kids, let’s not forget the positive affects it has on adults.
During this recession, stress has gone up while the stock market has gone down. Any one of these exercises can relieve the stress that builds up during the day and energizes and revitalizes your mind and body.
What better way to get through these difficult times than to exercise outdoors as a family. You will not only increase the bond between you, but will look out for each other to ensure you are all getting the proper exercise necessary to maintain your health.