Guest Blog Post from FITspiration Mom: 5 Great Ways to Stay Active with Your Family

Hi ladies! I have a special guest blogger on the blog this morning. I don’t have guest bloggers too often, but I am so excited to have Lex Hegarty from FITspiration Mom joining us to share her tips on staying active with her family that you can also apply to your own life! Enjoy the article below and don’t forget to let her know what you think!

5 Great Ways to Stay Active with Your Family

My main source of motivation for leading a healthy, happy lifestyle is my family—especially my kids. I want to live as long as I can to make as many memories as possible. Not just any memories, but memories that include being an active role in my children’s lives. I don’t want to sit by the sidelines, I want to give an enthusiastic “Yes!” when my daughter asks me to chase her around the playground. I want to be able to keep up with her as best as I can and show her that being active and healthy is a priority.

I’m one of those that enjoys working out alone and truly consider being active as a type of “therapy” and “me time”, but let’s be honest—it’s not always possible to have that when you have littles at home. Sometimes it’s all about changing your perspective and expectations, and dealing with the cards that you’re dealt.

One sure way to ditch your excuses is to make it a family affair. It’s a win-win!

Here are 5 great ways to stay active with your family:

Include them as a part of your workout (modify as needed). Babywear and go for a walk or walking lunges. Stand in front of your baby in a stroller and sing fun lullabies as you do some air squats. Lie baby on his/her back and do a plank or some push-ups as you give them little kisses. With older kids, let them copy what you’re doing. My 3-year-old daughter thinks it’s great and loves to put on her “yoga pants” to workout with mommy. It’s so fun to see them giggle and laugh at mommy being silly.
Roll the Dice! Assign a different exercise for numbers 1-6 and roll a dice to determine what you’ll do. For example: Roll a 1=Plank for 1 minute. Roll a 2=Do 2 sprints. Roll a 3=30 Jumping Jacks. And so on.
Create family traditions. Pick a day of the week where everyone can be active together, like a Saturday morning, and dub it your “Family Fitness Day.” Go on a hike or a trail and explore the outdoors. Alternate with activities such as going to the Zoo, Museum, or any other place that involves lots of walking. Sign up for a 5K run/walk and get awesome matching t-shirts. Creating these traditions will increase the chances of keeping an active, healthy lifestyle for the whole family.
Include it as a part of your evening ritual. Take the whole family for a 20-30 minute walk before or after dinner. Or my daughter’s favorite: have a nightly dance party before bath time. Something is always better than nothing!
Obstacle Course anyone? Make an obstacle course in your back yard or at your local park. Buy some cones, hula hoops, sports balls, etc. Get creative! Add some incentive and have some prizes for “best time”

These are just a few ideas to ensure your family stays active, it’s important to make it something fun and focus on the positive benefits. Instilling these healthy habits and behaviors will be great for your kids as they grow up and start making their own decisions about taking care of their own health and well-being.

Staying active for and with my family is the greatest gift I can pass on to my kids. They are my reason, not my excuse for staying active and being mindful of my health in all aspects. For more tips on how to create healthy habits for you and your family, be sure to check out my free 7 FITspiration Lifestyle Tips (clickable link to http://fitspirationmom.net/fitspiration-tips/)

Thanks for reading!

Until next time,

Lex

Your trainer and friend,