Family Fitness: Strength-Building Activities For The Whole Family

In the modern world, every member of the family is busy in their own way. Be it the parents, kids, or their grandparents, all have a daily schedule of activities and work. While parents go to work and take care of the house, grandparents have their own social outings and religious engagements to attend. As for children, they are in and out of school, co-curricular, and tuition, with little time for other things.

Therefore, when all these tired individuals return home and turn to their phones and other screens for leisure, they forget that it is mostly their mind that has worked all day, while their body just went along. As a result, when they eat better to compensate for the energy vacuum, they end up putting on weight without even realizing it.

Food can help you lose weight, when eaten in strict portions, or gain weight when eaten with little regard for consequences. But fitness and exercise tip the scales as they are essential for getting your body as active and running as your mind. Most adults, senior citizens, and children do not make time for fitness and fun sports, opting to be on a diet instead. But inadequate consumption of energy will lead to poor energy levels.

Instead, eat a balanced healthy diet and engage daily in some family fitness. Here are some fun and easy strength-building activities for the whole family to try.

Fun Strength-Building Activities For Family Fitness

Not everybody enjoys having a fixed daily routine and a chosen, consistent exercise form. Many families enjoy switching up activities regularly to keep things fun. Also, in families with elderly grandparents, individuals must consider their stamina and physical well-being while choosing family fitness. It is ideal to get your elderlies grooving 3 to 4 times a week, for at least 30 minutes, for improved bones, muscle structure, posture, and less creaks and pain in joints. Therefore, check out these fun strength-building activities for the whole family.

1. Dancing

Dancing is a great and healthy family-centered fitness activity that has no hard rules except having fun. Turn on the music and have a family dance party. Inhibitions are already minimal in families, so get your grandma on the dance floor, and she may just leave you in the dust with her agile moves. Not only is dancing therapeutic, but also improves bonding and happy endorphins in humans. If any elders suffer from arthritis, then dancing ball-room, free-style Bollywood, or Manipuri is ideal as they require little foot work when customized. If your family is getting good at dancing and enjoy it, try going for a family dance workshop.

2. Swimming

Swimming is a wonderful activity for your family to enjoy together as water therapy burns fat like crazy and enhances appetites. And if they cannot swim, this is the perfect chance to learn as it is never too late! Also, learning to swim can save a life any day. Go on a family day out to the local swimming club and spend a couple of hours unwinding and improving fitness in the water, while having fun together.

3. Exercise Games

Doing ordinary strength training at home, like burpees, squats, lunges, and more can become tedious for children after a while. Spice things up by making exercise games at home using playing cards or choosing folded chits. For example, hearts can be crunches, clubs can be squats, spades can be for jumping jacks, while diamonds can be lunges. Mix and deal an equal number of cards to all members of the family. If one picks six of the spades, then they will have to do 6 jumping jacks and so on. Whoever goes through their stack of cards first is the winner. Such games instill a healthy, competitive spirit in kids and get family fitness done without a hiccup.

4. Customized Fitness Circuits

If you do not think going to the gym is an ideal situation for either yourself or your family members, then don’t! Customize and make your own jungle gym at home, if there is adequate space. If there is not enough space, you can always purchase some dumb bells, climbing ropes and monkey bars to get things started at your cozy home. For all the quaking grandparents, fear not. Free-weights, exercise balls, resistance bands and more are there to improve muscle function, bone health, and cognition in them.

5. Yoga

Yoga is a great way of inculcating fitness into the entire family’s schedule, without worrying about aching knees and shaking calves, as it has exercises for all kinds of ailments and individuals. Also, yoga has a boatload of health benefits for all, while developing a serenity and peace of mind in all. Family yoga is a great time to practice mindful thinking and gratitude while getting fit with all your loved ones.

6. Long Walks

If nothing else, go on long walks daily with your family members. Initially, it may seem like nothing, but going on daily walks after meals or early in the morning can do wonders for the health of your family while ensuring the fitness of sick or aged grandparents does not fall behind.

Conclusion

It may be difficult to garner enough time daily for indulging in family fitness, but it should be a top priority. Try to get at least 30 to 60 minutes of family fitness and strength-building activities at least thrice a week. This will make sure your family remains tightly-knit, healthy, and together for long.