BeFIT Resources

Health & Wellness Tip of the Week 9/24-9/30/12

Fun Family Fitness

Have you thought about how great it would be to include your family in your pursuit to exercise more regularly? Family exercise will improve the health of your loved ones, make exercise more fun, and at the same time develop stronger connections between all of you. With a little creativity, you can find a way to make it work for everyone.

First, you may simply want to focus on educating each family member about the benefits of exercise–in a smart way. Trust me, bombarding everyone with statistics about heart disease, obesity, and blood pressure each morning as they come down to breakfast might not be the best option.

Another approach could be to hang up a “healthy living bulletin board” in your kitchen (or on the fridge door). Use it to post articles and other resources that will help get your point across without having to say much of anything. For example, if one of your children is an athlete, an article about a successful athlete who commits to exercise and good nutrition could go a long way. Or, post a story about a young person who had trouble focusing at school but started exercising and saw an amazing difference in their grades, their self-esteem and their ability to achieve goals.

The most important thing is to make it fun for everyone! In the process, you will not only teach your children about discipline, goal setting, and the importance of not only health, but also about the importance of family connection.