Family Health and Fitness Day: 4 Tips to Develop a Fitness Routine

Proper diet and exercise are part of a well-balanced, healthy lifestyle. Sure, there is a time for playing video games, watching TV, or scrolling on your smartphone, but let's face it: when you participate in any of these activities for too long, you'll soon begin to feel sluggish and unproductive. 

September is known to bring a lot of awareness to many different subjects, and one of those subjects is Family Health and Fitness. This month is a time when families across the country are encouraged to participate in outdoor activities together, or indoor activities not involving electronics. 

Exercising with your family gives you all the chance to get outside, breathe some fresh air, and get to spend true quality time with the people you care about the most. Plus, it is a fun way to compete against one another, and will surely bring lots of laughs! Taking the step to get physically active with your family could be the beginning of a lifelong enjoyment of fitness for you, and other members of your family!

Are you interested in partaking in fitness time with your family, but have no idea where to begin? Do you all have different ideas of what fun fitness means for you? Here's a few tips that can help your family develop a fun exercise routine, together!

 4 Tips to Develop an Exercise Routine

1. Think About Your Interests 

It's hard to get everyone interested in the same activities, but it's not impossible! All it takes is a little careful planning and elimination of what doesn't work for you and your family. For instance, if you have a child who doesn't like football, then trying to form a family football team is probably not the best idea. Save your energy, skip that battle, and instead look for something that everyone might enjoy. Brainstorm ideas together, write out each contribution, then narrow the list from there. Some things you can do together can include: bike riding, building obstacle courses in your home or backyard, going for a nice and easy jog, set up a mini boot camp competition, with each member leading different activities. Whatever you decide to do, have fun and be creative!

2. Mix it Up

Don't let your routine become a rut. There are plenty of fun things to do together, so mix it up every so often! These don't have to be major changes, but can be something as simple as switching from push ups to planks once a week. Or, it can be something completely different once in a while, such as playing tennis instead of soccer. Keep it fresh and keep checking in with your family to see if everyone is still having fun!

3. Rest Days

It's okay to have a rest day! In fact, you will probably need one. Pick a day during the week where you all can take a break to recharge your batteries, then get back on track the next day!

4. Commitment

Staying committed to your new routine is essential if you and your family want to see progress, or every excuse will become a reason to skip a workout. If the fun of your games and programs aren't satisfying enough, consider setting up a reward system for each workout. Make progress charts, and once one of you hit your goal, you get a reward - such as a "get out of ____ chore" free card, which would most likely be a huge motivation for the kids! Most important, play around and see what works best for you and your family to stay motivated.

Be sure to check out all of our exercise and fitness products by heading to our products page at www.mountainside-medical.com. We have several items to use for working out, as well as many nutrition supplements that can aid in your health journey as well!