It’s almost here!
Thanksgiving is tomorrow! I know that the day before can entail prepping or just having the family around since people are off of work/school. So today it seems fitting to have day 18: share the movement love. Share your workout/exercising by recruiting the whole family!
I promise it can be fun!
This doesn’t have to mean having your kids do push-ups, sit-ups, and squats with you in a way that is boring and unexciting. Foster a love of exercise and movement from an early age.
Let me explain a bit more:
Start Them Early!
From personal experience, I attribute a large amount of my love and enjoyment of physical activity to my parents and the activities and lifestyle they promoted early on in life. From those I have talked to, this seems like a common theme in others who tend to view exercise as something they ‘get to’ engage in. Growing up, we were at the volleyball courts at least once a month watching my mom play with her co-ed adult team. We were being pulled in the bike trailer until we could ride bikes of our own. We were on the boat watching my mom water-skiing and eagerly anticipating the day we were big enough to fit our feet into the child skis we had. Sports and movement were a part of our lives from an early age. Not only that, they were activities that were meaningful – we got to spend time together as a family.
This leads me to my next point:
Find a movement activity that you can enjoy as a family
This is the part that involves some work on your end. First, because it requires you to get up and move – a task that can be hard if you’re just starting out. Secondly, because it requires exploration and reflection. And getting back up and trying something else if the first activity you try does not work for you. Maybe your neighbor or sibling has found that their kids enjoy doing yoga together so you try it and it doesn’t work for your family. That is okay! Find something else and try that – maybe your family is more of a hiking family. Focus on finding the activity that is enjoyable and meaningful for you and your children.
Where to Start:
This can all be intimidating if you don’t have any ideas or knowledge on where to start so here are some ideas so you can start promoting lifelong activity in your family:
- Find a Frisbee or ball and play catch
- Find a family workout online (PopSugar has a fun one!)
- Go for a walk together
- Play a game of tag or chase
You an also check out my full page of family-friendly fitness here
Prefer to workout alone today?
No worries! Here are suggestions for a core workout:
I recommend doing 20-30 minutes worth of core work as well as taking 10-15 minutes to stretch!
Enjoy day 18: share the movement love
