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Family Fitness for the Entire Clan

By Camelia Herndon

Do you ever think about family fitness?

It's a fact, families are getting larger (and I don't mean in number). Our kids are getting obese and many families are unhealthy. You find time to eat, but do you think about making the time to exercise?

According to the National Association for Sports and Physical Education, school age children should have a minimum of one hour of daily activity each day. But don't wait until your kids are older, start the good habits early. Begin family fitness at an early age.

How can we make family fitness a priority? It all begins with you - the parents. Children need role models, they need someone to set the example and follow through with the commitment. So, why not begin an exercise kick as a family...

Make a commitment to spend more time together...begin to enjoy added benefits of health, continuity and enjoyment from each other.

Remember the old saying, a family that plays together stays together? Well, here are some ways to begin your family fitness program and also create a cohesive family unit.

Take an after dinner walk. On a beautiful day, grab the dog and kids and walk around the block. Make it a scavenger hunt. Have each kid find a list of items.

Or have mini races - the first one to the corner wins, the first one to the yellow house wins. Your kids won't even know they are exercising.

Turn on the music. Clear some space in your living room and play "Freeze Dance". Have someone teach a new dance every week. You can even play "Freeze Clean" -have the kids clean-up the house to the music. When the music pauses, they have to freeze.

Sign-up for a charity walk/race. Every community has some kind of race or Family Fun Run. Sign-up as a family and begin to train together. Every kid loves the thrill of winning a ribbon or medal at the end of a race - and they will deserve it!!

Work in the Yard. What could be more fun than raking leaves- and then jumping in the piles? Or planting a garden and watching the fruits of your labor grow. (by the way, it's been proven, kids will eat more vegetables if they grow them themselves.) In the winter, have the kids help you shovel. And then make snow angels and snowmen in the backyard.

There are so many ways to include family fitness into your daily lifestyle. You just need to make the commitment. Establish a regular schedule and keep it fun. Have your kids help you decide what things to do. If they're involved it'll keep them doing it. You can count on your children looking forward to the time you spend together as well as gaining the added benefit of exercise.

About the Author:

Camelia Herndon is owner of Fitness Together is Darien and New Canaan, CT. She has helped over 200 clients acheive their health and fitness goals. Her website is http://www.fitnesstogetherct.com.