Daily Fitness Challenge: Come Play!

Those of you who know my weight loss story know that the majority of my efforts went into changing my diet and bringing balance to other areas of my life. Not so much about exercise—and I’ve said before that had I placed more value on exercise once the weight started coming off, it probably would have come off faster than it did. Looking back, I can now see that.

Why didn’t I exercise?

Well the biggest reason is because I didn’t think I liked to exercise. I knew I was supposed to, but I do not find any enjoyment in lifting weights, running/biking/stair climbing, elliptical-izing, etc. I did find some dance-y classes I liked, but I felt self-conscious and didn’t like that everyone in the gym could see me. Some people do really well in the gym environment, which is great for them; but not me. I did try to—I went 5 times a week for a couple of hours a day—but I did not lose weight.  I also had no energy or motivation to work out. So I just didn’t do it.

Later on, I began kind of collecting different fitness DVDs…belly dancing, Pilates, yoga, ballet barre, etc. and started doing those a little at a time once my weight began to come off because of the nutritional changes I made. I also began swimming laps (which is actually really fun),and walking around the track to kill time during my daughters’ lessons. At first it was really hard—I got really tired, really fast and I was sore for days. I really couldn’t do much. But since my mindset was beginning to improve, I became a lot more motivated. Now I began to do at least one active thing several times a week. It would be a long walk, a dance class, a yoga, Pilates, or Zumba DVD; just stretching for the time it takes to watch a TV show—anything. My body has responded well, and I feel great.

Time to up the ante—and now the kids are involved.

It’s no secret that kids today don’t get nearly the same amount of exercise than they did years ago. I really blame screen-time—TV, video games, computers, handheld electronic devices like iPads, smart phones, etc. I’ve seen it myself. I love my iPad, but I admit it—once I got it and started downloading apps, I got very distracted with fun little video games—I also am a former Sims addict. I didn’t think much of it, until I tried to get my own kids to do a 20 minute Zumba DVD with me just for fun and they couldn’t even get through it. Now, in their defense, the 20 minute Rush DVD is FAST—but there is no reason a 35 year old should have more stamina than 7 and 5 year olds! My kids do dance classes and play soccer in the fall, but they only have gym class once a week in school and during recess, the activities are not always all that physical. Still, I was really surprised.

I don’t know if it was just laziness, or lack of stamina, or if they were tired from camp—and I wasn’t expecting them to do it perfectly (because I sure can’t do it perfectly!)—but I at least expected them to be able to keep moving for the 20 minutes. I got mad at them. I yelled. I took away screen time until I began to see an improvement. I told them that every day from now on, we will ALL be doing at least one form of physical activity/exercise/fitness—whatever you want to call it—every day. They were not amused.

I have to take part of the blame myself—I am the parent and I admit I don’t love to exercise. I also use the “I’m too busy, too tired, time to cook dinner, have to do some work,” etc. excuses. I need to set the example for my kids and “walk my talk” just like I always try to do with my clients. So we are committed. Just because my kids eat well and are not overweight, doesn’t mean they have as much stamina and physical fitness ability as they should. That is going to change.

What types of fitness activities are involved?

This week we’ve done a lot of walking because my car was in the shop (don’t even ask). I had to pick them up from camp on foot (about a mile away) and walk them home in this 98 (feels like 105) degree heat (don’t worry we had sunscreen and plenty of water). While it was annoying, I realized that I rather enjoyed the walk. When you are walking, you don’t have to sit in the car line! Let me tell you, after those walks the kids were begging to do Zumba. So we have. We have also been practicing cartwheels in the backyard (which I can do again! And it’s really fun!), kicking around the soccer ball, playing wiffle ball, jumping rope, hula hooping (my kids are both crazy-good hoopers—I’m just OK), having water fights, dancing, and doing lots of stretching. Sometimes we do one thing a day, sometimes we do more than one. But we are going to keep it up—because it is good for all of us and because we are having a blast playing together.

What about you?

What kind of quick, easy, fun fitness things do you enjoy doing to get your daily exercise in? If you have kids, what types of fun, physical activities do you do together? If your answer is “nothing, or I’m too busy, etc.” I really encourage you to make playing together a priority.

The excuse should never be “they don’t want to play”. Kids will play, and they will run and jump and skip and scurry—it is in their nature to do so. However, with so many convenient distractions in their lives these days, many don’t even know how to play anymore. This has to stop—not just for their physical well-being, but also for their mental, intellectual, and emotional well-being.

So I invite you all to join me and find just one thing to do that gets you moving every day. Involve your kids, spouse, parents, friends, co-workers—everyone. 

Exercise doesn’t have to just be about working out—go play!