5 Steps to Get Active & Creative: A New Way to Approach Family Fitness

By Danielle Medina

Summer is a perfect time to increase your physical activity, go outside and plan quality time with the family. It may seem like a big endeavor, however, with some preparation and knowledge on how to start and maintain a fitness schedule you can stay on track. A family that plays and works out together stays healthy together!

As a fitness professional and mom to my preschooler daughter, I have been able to find some easy and manageable ways to make family fitness possible. It’s the driving force to building strong bodies, creating family bonds and lifelong healthy habits.
Let’s explore 5 steps on how you can improve the health and well being of you and your family.

1) Develop A Growth Mindset
Change your thoughts; change your outcome! A growth mindset cancels out fear and allows you to move past judgments and mistakes. It’s important to know that you are capable of many things. If your goal is to lose weight and start feeling better, make that an essential part of your daily tasks. In order for you to move toward the direction of physical transformation there must first be a mental transformation. 

The parent-child connection is a multifaceted relationship. Children look to us parents for encouragement when things get difficult. One example of showing a growth mindset approach to fitness is to talk about how some movements may feel challenging. It is through these experiences that we can condition our bodies through exercise to help improve our progress. I find that when my daughter is struggling with a movement, I will ask her if there are other approaches to this particular movement. If we look for ideas to develop – physically, mentally and spirituality – we can produce change and show our commitment. 

2) Aim For Daily Movement
When I suggest to my clients to increase their physical activity on a daily basis, finding time becomes less of an issue. I help create a schedule for them that incorporate movements during specific times of the day. The more fitness becomes an integral part of your life the less barriers you will experience. 

Children can also benefit from a daily fitness schedule. Not only does physical movement help in brain function, but it also can set them up for a lifetime of healthy habits. One example is to use your heavy grocery bags for bicep curls as you walk to your car or on the way home. It’s an effective way to combine weekly errands and fitness together. To help get your children involved in cleaning the house, turn some music on and use lunges or squats to pick up toys or clothes from the floor. 

3) Go Outside
It’s not hard to enjoy beautiful warm weather. There are so many benefits to being outside and moving. Parks and green spaces are a great place for family movements. Outdoor fitness helps improve your mood, challenges your body in a different way and increases your daily dose of Vitamin D. It also helps improve your sleep, which is so important for your body to properly rest. 

4) ABC’s Of Fitness
Learning about movement together as a family fosters curiosity. I often pull out our anatomy book and show the different muscle groups to my daughter. Children are naturally curious about their bodies and how it works. Once we learn about the different muscles, we make action songs about them. This is a favorite for little kids. While older kids enjoy challenging movements or friendly competitions. Keep it light and positive! 

Make up games to see how many push-ups, squats, jumps or any kind of movement that everyone can do. Focus on positive reinforcement and look for ways to add new movements that get the whole body working. For younger children, use imaginative play and movement for a fun time. 

5) Eat Your Plants
What you put in your body fuels it! Start increasing your vegetable, fruit and plant-based food intake. The best indicator to overall health is in your gut. Since I am a plant-based nutrition educator, I encourage my clients to ingest foods that have been minimally processed and nourish our bodies. The earlier you start healthy eating habits the easier it will be for our children to follow. Their palates will be able to enjoy these delicious nutrient-dense foods.

Take the health of you and your family into your own hands! Celebrate your achievements and be supportive during your missteps. Our biggest changes start with a solid foundation. A strong family bond can be an important element to overall health.