Fun Indoor Fitness for Kids

Need some ways to beat the winter indoor blues? I always try to get my kiddos outdoors for some fresh air, even in the winter, but when the cold is just too cold, we have to get creative inside.

If you need some help getting your kids to go from this --

to this --

I hope you find this post helpful! =)

Jumping rope:  We don’t have space to do this indoors for real, but we can lay the rope out on the floor and do several jumping games.  (If you don’t have a jump rope, just use a piece of yarn or string.)

• Jump over and back on two feet – or try one foot!
•  See how many jumps it takes to get to the end of the rope
• Bear-walk, crab-walk, crawl, roll, etc. the length of the rope and back
• Make shapes with the rope – triangle, circle, square etc – and hop in and out

Parades and Trains:

My boys love music!  We have a few musical instruments that come along with us on our parades.  The boys take time leading or following each other around the house, while we play lovely music! If you don’t have any traditional instruments, fill up a plastic peanut butter jar with some rice for a quick shaker and grab a small pot or lid with a wooden spoon for a quick percussion instrument.  If you are joining the parade, I do advocate ear plugs! 

Trains are also fun! Make a train with your bodies by holding onto the person in front of you. Take turns being the engine, freight car, or caboose and explore your house… all the while making amazing train sounds. Of course!

Obstacle courses:

Create a kid friendly obstacle course in your living room! Crawl under tables or couch cushion tunnels, shimmy through tight spaces, jump over “fire or water” (red or blue paper), bear or crab walk over a couch cushion, walk backwards for a specific distance, or make a limbo rope. Jumping jacks, crawling, turning in circles, and other movements can be added in specific areas.  If you are making a course for older children, add challenge by having them carry something in their hands or by adding a balance challenge to some of the obstacles (For example, balance a light book or paper on their heads.). 

*Please make sure all fragile items are out of the way, and there are no sharp corners where your children might get hurt.  

Don’t Touch the Floor! is another game that goes along these lines.  Use pillows, blankets, cushions, paper etc. to have your children get from point A to a point B without touching the floor.

“Clean up Parties”

I laugh at how my little guys love “clean up parties” at our house! Not sure exactly how this originated, but the name has stuck and we usually do these several times a week –if not every day.  We crank up the kids tunes and race all over the house cleaning up.  I have to say that I love the results of “clean up parties” too! =)

 

Outdoor toys inside!

This doesn’t work well for us, because right now we don’t have a good basement space for this, but if it works for you- great! Outdoor soccer balls, hula hoops, small trikes, scooters etc. can all be used indoors if you have a safe space to enjoy them.

Making Roads:

There are an incredible number of options that go along the lines of this idea.  At our house, we make roads through the living room with small alphabet and number squares.  Tiptoeing, hopping, or jumping along the path or on the squares can help with balance and coordination and burn off some energy.

Red light- Green Light:

This game doesn’t need a road to play (just a safe place to run or move), but if you don’t have a large space, a path can help.  We often drive along the ‘road’ and pretend to be cars that have to stop and start, when I say “red light” or “green light”.  If you have a smaller space, but older children, try racing from a start to finish by crawling, walking backwards, or doing a crab walk.  If they don’t stop when you say “red light”, you may have them start back at the beginning. 

Balloons!

We LOVE balloons at our house! Balloons are one of the cheapest methods of entertainment for my kiddos.  They run around chasing them, see how long they can keep them in the air, kick them, throw them, and just love playing with them.  Try turning on a fan to make the balloons move around more on their own and make them more difficult to catch.  Or, lay down on the floor and try to keep a balloon up with your feet.  If you have several colors available, have them run to find a specific color and bring it you.  Older children might enjoy play a game of balloon volleyball back and forth over a string – or even just a line on the floor.  

There really are so many active games to play, for kids of all ages. These are just a few favorites from our house.  If you are a mom of a preschooler, try this link for more game ideas! 
http://www.teachpreschool.org/2013/12/winter-time-large-motor-play-for-the-preschool-classroom/

  

Do you have other fun indoor ACTIVE-ities that your children love? Feel free to share below!

Encouraging Your Man to Exercise

While it is common for men to exercise more than women, whether single, married, divorced, or widowed (DePaulo, 2011), there are cases when you may be concerned about your man’s lack of physical activity. He may find fitness activities boring, or simply fill his time with hobbies or other pursuits.  Many jobs in today’s world are very sedentary, and it is a challenge to fight the norm of an inactive lifestyle.  As you encourage your spouse or significant other to exercise, I hope these do’s and don’ts help guide you along the way.

Do:

• Explain to your spouse that exercise will benefit them – i.e. they will be more alert during their workday, control their low back pain, or manage stress more effectively. See Exercise Benefits for other ideas.  Exercise may be put on the back burner indefinitely if there does not appear to be any reward for the effort.
• Support your spouse by offering time for them to exercise. Make room in their schedule. Say “Hey, I can watch the kids after dinner tonight if you’d like to go out for a bike ride.”
• Invite them to exercise along with you… and keep the invitation open! I often exercise in the early morning before the kids are awake, with the express goal of getting my husband to workout with me (he’s more a morning person than I am).  While it may be rare for him to take me up on my offer, he knows it's a standing invitation.
• Tell your spouse that you are attracted to him when he’s sweaty…unless of course you are not... in which case I wouldn't say anything. =)
• Encourage your spouse to do the physical activities they love to do. My husband loves to play Ultimate Frisbee and basketball, but I could not pay him to train for a race as he is simply not interested.  Obviously it makes sense that because Ultimate Frisbee and basketball are both great forms of exercise, I should try to make ways for him to enjoy those sports.
• Join him in those activities that he loves or tolerates.  My husband doesn’t love to bike as much as I do, but he definitely tolerates it and perhaps enjoys it a little bit. I may not love (or be great at!) basketball or Frisbee, but we have a fun time when we play and we both get in some fitness.

Do Not:

• Tell your spouse that he will die if he does not exercise… or make other radical claims.  I don’t know about your guy, but mine does not go for dramatics.
• Push him out of bed in the morning and tell him to go running when it is 15 degrees outside. You may, however, try pulling him out if you are already dressed to run along with him.
• Tell him he is unattractive and you wish he worked out more often.  Or you wish he were more like those Ryan Gosling memes, so often seen on Pinterest. 
•  Make him attend a group fitness class when you know it will be all women.  That takes a lot of confidence for a guy and I think it’s unkind to put that kind of pressure on anyone.
• Put away dinner before he gets home, telling him that you’ll feed him after he goes to the gym. 
• Make comments about his couch potato behavior when he is watching a sports game.  If he hears you at all, it will go in one ear and out the other.
• Purposely leave him behind at your son’s soccer game and make him walk home, because you think he needs the exercise.

Ouch, yes?  

We have the opportunity to be awesome encouragers and promoters of health in our families.  If fitness is not something you are consistent in quite yet, enlist the help of your man and do it together.  Even if he does not have a great interest in fitness, you may be surprised to find that he will exercise just to hang out and support you! 


Reference: 

ePaulo, B. (2011, January 14). Living Single. Retrieved from Psychology Today:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/living-single/201101/men-women-single-married-who-really-exercises-more