Fun Exercise

Exercise doesn't have to feel like a workout. Instead grab the kids and have some fun while getting in shape.
If being more active is on your to-do list this spring, take a cue from your kids by adding fun to your workouts. Better yet, exercise together! Being active with your family won't only benefit your health, it'll benefit theirs as well, says Canada AM fitness expert and corporate wellness consultant Libby Norris. "Parents are role models to their kids," says Norris. "They watch everything we do." Here are five activities that require little in the way of equipment, but provide all-important bonding time with your children.

1. Downward dog, anyone?
"You can start the day in a positive way with just a few minutes of yoga," says Adrienne Rawlinson, author of Creative Yoga for Children and a mom of two from Oakville, ON. Even young children can master the table pose (hands and knees on the ground, keeping back flat), cow pose (dropping belly while inhaling and looking up at the ceiling) and cat pose (arching the back while dropping the head down to look at the belly). Older children might enjoy following along with a yoga DVD or an online video. The benefits of deep breathing and muscle-relaxing exercises are numerous, including better posture, improved muscle tone and relief from menstrual cramps.

2. Put the play in playground
Tag, you're it! This childhood game becomes one high-intensity workout when moved to the playground. "Try to keep up as kids run around the equipment, or let them chase you," suggests Janet Parisi, a Toronto mom of two active girls. Or skip a trip to the gym and use the structures as part of your workout—have the kids try standing pushups or bench dips with you. Even just playing on the swings and slides with your kids, or kicking around a soccer ball, is a great way to sneak some exercise into your day and de-stress, says Norris.

3. Everyone into the pool
Until the weather is a little warmer, the local indoor pool is your best bet for swimming. Take advantage of designated family swim times to let kids splash around while you get a leg workout by performing lunges or just treading water. But make sure that safety comes first. Kids who can't swim should always wear a life jacket or personal flotation device that's been specifically designed for children, and parents should be within arm's reach of their child at all times. Challenge your older, stronger swimmers to set the pace for you during the pool's designated lane swim times. Using tampons ensures that teens who are having their periods won't need to miss out on any of the fun.

4. Get your groove on
Anyone who has ever hit a dance floor knows what a great aerobic workout dancing can be. Little ones love a good game of "Freeze Dance," in which participants freeze when the music stops, then bust a move when it starts again. Dance video games are a great way to get active at home. "You may not be doing a targeted workout, but you are burning calories, making life more active and making fun memories," says Norris.

5. Hit the road
Your kids love riding their bikes, but how often do you go for a spin with them? This simple activity is great cardio, and it improves balance, coordination and lower-body strength, says Norris. It's also an easy activity to do anywhere. You can go on an errand to the corner store or library, or you can explore local trails purely for recreation.

We have lots more family fitness tips.

Are you and your kids getting enough exercise? Find out how you can get in some much-needed exercise time with your children. 

Exercise with children. We've all heard about the benefits; that exercise strengthens their hearts and helps them maintain healthy body weight and blood pressure. According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, children ages 5 to 17 should accumulate at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day. Yet according to the foundation, more than half of Canadian children fall short of this target.

Getting more exercise into your kid's day
While organized sports are great for making up some of those hours, it's hard to imagine squeezing any more activities into your kids' day. Surely you can't be expected to schlep your kids to even more hockey arenas, swimming pools and dance classes? Good news: There are some easy (not to mention relatively inexpensive) ways to exercise with your children – and you can do them closer to home.

The key word is "accumulate"
Every step your child takes counts. And whether that step is actually a skip, a jump or a twirl, it's still a step. While vigorous exercise, which strengthens muscles and bones, should make up at least three of your kids' seven hours of exercise each week, not every activity has to seem like exercise. In fact, the more fun and carefree an activity, the more likely your kids are to actually do it – right?

Keeping kids active
For Carla McIvor, a Vancouver-based mom, schoolteacher and dance instructor, keeping her daughter, Daniella, active comes down to simply enjoying the outdoors and each other's company.

"If we're going to the store, we try to walk," says Carla. "It's a trek through the woods for part of it. If no one is around, we sometimes pretend to be horses and gallop."

On weekends, Carla and her husband, Mike, an avid adventure racer and two-time Ironman participant, often take Daniella camping. "Nothing compares to it," says Carla. "We go for nature walks, collect shells and other random treasures from the beach, ride bikes.... In essence, the entire day is active."

Walking (or galloping) to the store and other nearby places is a practical, easy way to integrate exercise into your family's day-to-day life. After a while, it will even become automatic: If your kids want to go somewhere nearby they will naturally use their own two feet to get there.