How to Step Up Your Family Fitness Routine

Guest Post by UNICEF Kid Power

 

Ever feel overwhelmed by fitness guidelines? 10,000 steps per day is the figure most bandied about as optimum for feeling good and staying healthy. But when it comes to kids, some sources cite figures as high as 12,000 to 16,000 steps/day for boys and 10,000 to 13,000 for girls.

Sweating how to get them all in? It’s easier than you think if you follow any of these tips:

Unicef Kids MainBreak it up

If 10,000 steps per day seems like a lot, you can get them all in by designing a day that includes activity bursts in between the items on your family’s to-do list. Having a lazy start to the day? Turn off the screens and gather everyone for a first-thing 20-minute walk-run around the neighborhood or local track. Headed to the movies at the mall? Arrive 20 minutes early and take a brisk stroll around the perimeter or through the aisles before the credits roll. Have 20 minutes before the roast chicken is done? Put on some music and have a family dance party. You’ll hit your goal — and get cardio’s feel-good effects throughout your day.

Shake it off

Aerobic exercise is a great way to earn steps but you don’t have to truck your kids to the gym to get their heart rates up. Workout videos designed for kids — check out Fitness magazine’s best-of list — are a fun way to put the whole family through their paces. Some of our faves focus on dance moves, like 6 Fit Kids’ Workouts, which features African and Latin dance combos. Just make sure to include a 5-10 minute warm-up and cool down plus stretches.

Walk and climb don’t ride

Leave the car at home on those short jaunts to the library, grocery or. Headed too far to go on foot? Park the car or get off the bus or train a half-mile short of your final destination to up your step. Once you’re there, skip the elevators and escalators and take the stairs! 

Get outside

According to KidsHealth, kids can burn more calories and have more fun when left to their own devices. An hour or so outside, playing tag or kickball, riding bikes around the neighborhood, building forts and climbing trees is one of the best circuit trainings there is! If you live in a city with limited outdoor space, just enter your zip code into the Map of Play to find places near you where the entire family can roam free and and have fun.

Keep their eye on the prize

If you haven’t exercised in a while it’s easy to forget how good it feels. Moving stimulates circulation, delivering oxygen to the muscles and brain, which means more energy to get things done — and have fun! If your kids like to do good — find a walk-a-thon or kids’ 5K for a cause that matters to them so they can turn their steps into good deeds. The UNICEF Kid Power Band, which turns steps into food aid for malnourished children is another way to go. So on those days when no one feels like leaving the house, remind your family why being active can be one of the greatest ways to give back to yourself — and others!

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