Exercising as a family
Here in Tenerife we are now in our 5th week of lockdown due to the Coronavirus. For the sanity and harmony of our families it is important for the whole family unit to stay active and healthy by doing some form of family fitness. One of the best ways to achieve this is to do a daily home workout as a family. Involve everyone in your daily fitness regime even the youngest of children. With us all being locked up at home 24 hours a day we need to get our bodies moving. Especially for young kids who are usually running and playing outside everyday there are massive benefits of exercising as a family.
Home Workout
What kind of exercises can we do together?
When exercising as a family its important to do types of exercises that your kids can get involved with. Take your time and explain each exercise and encourage them even if they can’t do it. Train in pairs and make it fun for example to see who can get the furthest down or who can hold it the longest. Remember if this is family fitness it might not always be exactly how you would train alone. Great exercise ideas for kids
- Running on the spot – make it a race they’ll love it
- Press Ups – if they need to get them to do them from the knees
- Squats – ensure they keep the back straight and don’t drop the knees forward
- Sit Ups -for most kids its better to start with the feet on the floor and do short crunches
- Alternate Squats / Mountain Climbers
- Burpees – surprisingly these are our son’s favourite exercise
Stretching
This is a great habit to get into for everyone as family fitness even after we get out of lockdown. Stretching on a daily basis keeps our bodies strong and supple and has massive benefits on our breathing and agility. Stretching should be done slowly and relaxed with the focus on your breathing. Inhale deeply in through the nose for 3 seconds and exhale slowly out through the mouth for 6 seconds. As well as bringing in more oxygen to the blood which in turns feeds the muscles, this will disconnect the mind as you focus on the sound of the breathing.
Silence your mind
By listening to the sound of your breath the stream of thoughts in your mind will stop. This pause in your thinking brings a sense of calm and serenity. This aspect of exercise and breathing is the primary benefit to all of us during this difficult and unprecedented time. The more you can silence the brain on a daily basis… the greater and longer you will have that sense of serenity.
Don’t force your kids to exercise
We have found over the last few years that the best way to get kids interested in Family Fitness is to let them choose when they do it. Exercise or training needs to be fun…not a chore. When it is their decision to do some form of fitness they will put more effort in. The days they don’t want to do it…don’t make them. Let them be kids!!!
