Savvy Library

How to Get Fit as a Family

It’s a lot easier to get fit as a family than doing it alone. When everyone’s pulling in the same direction as you, it provides a source of greater motivation and prevents losing face by not working out. Quitting means having to explain to the rest of the family why you’re doing so, especially the kids who follow from your studious example. Even if it’s a partner pact without the kids, you still won’t want to look weak or less than fully committed.

To make sure that quitting doesn’t become an option, choose an activity that you know you will complete. Whether that be a small game of indoor basketball or a family game of soccer, with the help of equipment that you can find at somewhere like GearupSports.com, then that is what you must decide to do. Set an example for your family and show them that staying fit is not only important to your health, but it can also be fun at the same time.

Here are some tips on how to get fit as a family or as a partner team.

Eat & Drinking Healthily

 

Getting fit and healthy starts with what we put into our bodies. For instance, processed carbs aren’t going to be as good as eating what’s come out of the ground, has been cleaned and prepared. Eating smart doesn’t mean switching to a paleo diet if that’s not what you’re interested in. Just plan meals around preparing food from scratch instead of having takeout or other unhealthy choices.

Drinks should be water and the occasional glass of fruit juice or milk, not soda and other drinks with added sugar. Even sugar substitutes encourage the body to retain more fat and aren’t great for you. Juices in moderation are fine but bear in mind that fruit has a lot of sugar in it too. A veggie shake with no extras is better than a fruit one.

Workout Wherever You Can

 

You can work out using a yoga mat in the living room, get a gym membership, or put a rowing machine in the garage that’s recommended by the folks at RowingReviewshubcom.com. Any of these methods or more than one used in combination prevents exercise boredom that helps you burn more calories than you consume each day. That’s the key – burn a greater number of calories than you put into your body.

It doesn’t matter so much what exercises you enjoy the most. If you want to use a rowing machine and combine that with a tennis doubles match with the family, that’s fine too. Whatever keeps you motivated and moving towards your goals; if you can have fun at the same time, awesome!

Track the Progress

Look at everyone in the family who’s participating and mark their starting weight and waist size. Then track their progress once a week on the scale and with a tape measure. Either use a wall chart or a computerized version that everyone can access to see how the family is doing as a group and individually.

Follow the maxim that “What gets tracked, gets done” and religiously follow the weekly progress. Understand that there won’t be steady improvement every week; some weeks will see a flat number or even an increase in weight. This can happen due to a greater amount of water retention (especially for women) or due to a change in diet or exercise routine. Just make tweaks and adjustments to push harder the following week rather than seeing it as a negative.

Getting fit as a family supplies extra motivation to put time into working out, playing sports or doing some other kind of activity that gets the heart rate up. Preparing different family meals that support the weight loss goals (or maintain the weight where fitness is the higher priority) helps enormously too.

9 Comments

  • Linda Manns Linneman

    I think this is great to do as a family. These are some great suggestions. Thank you so much for sharing. God Bless

  • Karen Jaras

    This would be great for tracking activities with our grandchildren. We do not have their energy, but I think they would get a kick out of us trying!

  • Cathy Jarolin

    I think that is such a clever idea to have the whole family doing their daily exercises together. Then you are charting their weight and waist sizes every week awesome. That alone should keep the motivation going. Good Luck and Thank You for sharing this exciting Idea. :0)~~~~

  • AmeriBev

    Beverages, including soft drinks, can be part of a balanced lifestyle – there are lots of choices that have little to no sugar or some that are in smaller packages. America’s beverage companies agree that it’s important for Americans to be mindful of their sugar intake. We’ve been broadening beverage choices dramatically through innovations like lower calorie sodas, teas, sports drinks, flavored waters, enhanced waters and premium waters. We’ve developed mid-calorie versions of longtime favorites; we created mini-cans. The beverage aisle looks much different today than just 10 years ago. We are committed to being part of real solutions to public health challenges with initiatives like Balance Calories – an initiative to reduce the calories Americans consume from beverages nationally by 20 percent by 2025.

    With respect to diet beverages and their ingredients, the body of science and regulatory authorities worldwide verify their safety, and credible research confirms their efficacy as a weight loss and management tool. For example, a randomized clinical trial showed that those who consumed low-calorie beverages in place of caloric ones consumed fewer calories than other control groups, including those who consumed only water: http://bit.ly/Ik4zj.