Exercising As A Family

Exercising As A Family

When you’re working with a client, they may express a wish that their partner and/or children would take up similar healthy habits. Anything you can do to facilitate that can be great for your client as well as their family members. Whether your client is already a high-performing athlete or just starting to establish a workout routine, involvement from those close to them can help them stay motivated.

If this topic comes up, here are some methods you can recommend to your clients to get their family involved in physical activities:

Walking

What could be easier than walking? Here are some ways to incorporate more walks into a couple or family’s lifestyle:

• Walk instead of driving when you have an errand in the neighborhood.
• Walk kids to school and meet them at school to walk back.
• Establish an after-dinner or weekend morning walk routine.
• If you have a dog, find a longer route for their regular walks.

Play

Exercise doesn’t have to be formal and it’s more palatable for everyone if it’s fun! Try some of these activities to keep the family moving:

• Plan a bicycling round-trip to a destination that everyone will enjoy.
• Go out in the yard or to a nearby park and throw around a flying disc or ball or shoot some hoops.
• Dance! Whether it’s a dance video game or just an informal dance party at home with the radio, dancing is a great way to get in some aerobic movement.
• Engage your pets in play. Dogs and cats alike benefit from daily exercise and the humans get some exercise at the same time.
• Head to the swimming pool. Whether swimming or just playing in the water, you’ll burn a surprising number of calories in a couple of hours at the pool.

Beneficial Chores

It may not be quite as fun, but involving the whole family in certain chores can increase everyone’s activity levels and make the work easier and quicker for everyone. See about getting everyone on board the next time you need to:

• Do yard work such as raking, leaf bagging, weeding and planting seeds or other plants.
• Shovel snow.
• Clean the house.
• Wash the car.

Your Exercise Routine

Finally, it would be great to introduce your family to whatever portions of your own exercise regimen might be appropriate.

• Have them accompany you to a yoga, Pilates or aerobics class.
• Include them on a trip to the gym for weight training, floor exercises or time on the track.
• Ask your partner or an older child to accompany you on an easy run to see if they might like to join you regularly.

A couple or family can benefit greatly from staying active together. Help your clients find ways to increase their family members’ fitness and you could be benefiting their own health and fitness as well.