Eating a healthy diet is very important, and so is making sure your family is active. Being physically active on a consistent basis can add years onto your life. Healthy years filled with joy and family time. Making fitness a priority in your family in a very important part of making sure your kids lead healthy and productive lives.
Making Family Fitness a Habit
Set a Good Example:
The first step in making physical fitness a habit for your family is setting a good example. Start with yourself. Don’t make any excuses to skip out on your own workouts. Make good choices when it comes to food AND physical activity. We know that children are always watching and looking up to us. They will model the behaviour they see.
No Screen Time Before Fitness:
Screen time is one of the biggest excuses for lack of physical activity. It’s so easy to lose yourself on the internet or when watching a TV show. Spending more then 4 hours sitting in a day can double the risks of diabetes, stroke, and blood clots. Some studies have even indicated a 125% increase in risks of all cardiovascular diseases. Make sure to keep track of your family’s screen time and make it a rule that they must engage in some physical activity before any screen time. Aim for 10 minutes of physical activity for every 5 minutes of screen time.
Make Fitness Fun:
Make sure your family is having fun! If exercise is fun your family is so much more likely to do it! Let everyone in your family choose some activities they enjoy and then mix it up throughout the week so you aren’t doing the same things everyday. There are so many fun options like swimming, hiking, biking, bowling… Get your family really excited and participate in a Color run or obstacle race!
Get Creative:
There are so many ways to incorporate movement into everyday activities. You could build a standing desk or even a treadmill desk, jump on the treadmill while talking on the phone and walk at an easy pace, play games that require movement, do jumping jacks during commercial breaks… The possibilities are endless!
Make Sure it’s a Priority:
Every day is a new day to make health and fitness a priority. When you wake up in the morning, choose to make fitness a priority. If you do some sort of physical activity first thing in the morning, you’ll set yourself up for a day full of healthier choices. Have a morning stretch together as a family or do some jumping jacks and squats, and then have a healthy breakfast.
When you choose to make fitness as mandatory as eating right and drinking lots of water you will be improving your whole family’s health. You’ll maintain healthy weights, improve muscle tone, and improve your cardiovascular health. Your family’s health depends on making fitness and healthy lifestyle choices a top priority.
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