Week 6
Family Fitness
If you are looking for some fun physical activities to do with your kids, I have a few ideas for you. I hope through out the stories I am sharing on Walk and Talk Wednesday you will glean ideas and projects that will work for you and your family to reach your fitness goals.
One of our favorite places to get some exercise is the park. We visit several local parks each month. We have different ones we like to visit on different days of the week too. It is a lot of fun to mix and match and the kids look forward to this activity. I feel good knowing they got in some PE time, but often they get so much more from this. They get to meet new and old friends, they learn about the outdoors, and more. It is a win win situation.
There is so much variety at different parks. Some parks have playgrounds, some have paved walking paths, some allow bike riding, skating, skate boarding, and some have tennis courts, basketball courts, baseball and soccer fields, areas to fly kites, play frisbee, frisbee golf, or play kickball, and some have wooded hiking trails too. There is so much variety available at different parks and almost anyone can find a park that is a good match for their family to exercise at.
We often go site seeing on the weekends as a family and this is a great way to ad in some family fitness. Most of these outings are within a two hour or less drive from home, but sometimes we venture farther. Most of these sites (zoo, museums, state parks, plantations, lakes, natural formations, fairs, festivals, etc) require us to do some walking to enjoy the experience. Most of the sites we visit are free or very low cost. If there is a cost, then sometimes we buy a season pass. With our size of family (8 people), as season pass works out good. My husband and I got started doing this in Kansas and Indiana in the early 1990’s when a lot of states put together booklets on places to see called “One Tank Trips”. Gas was much cheaper then, and now it costs a lot to burn up a tank of gas. So we try to balance how much we are spending in gas with the value of the learning experience and quality family time together.
You might be pleasantly surprised to learn about free or low cost places your family can go see within a short drive of where you live. Check your local area newspapers, and visiting center for places to visit. Great websites to find activities in your local area are google searches for one tank trips with your state or metro area . So folks in Charlotte NC might find things to do at charlottenews/one tank trips and so on. Another site to look up is grandparents.com and the words visit and put your state or nearby state name in. So if you lived near Charlotte NC your search might read visitnc.com or visitsc.com to find exciting places in North Carolina and South Carolina. Just pick the state you want to search and you will find lots of great sites to plan your adventure. You can map google any address and map out your trip and calculate the mileage to see how much gas money it will cost you too. Better yet, have the kids look it up and calculate the mileage as a learning activity!
We enjoy exercising at home together. Some days we play in the yard, shoot baskets in the hoop on the driveway, walk or ride bikes on our street. We also enjoy doing an exercise video together. We have a couple that are geared for younger kids, like a Sesame Street video, that we have used in the past. Currently we are using T-Tapp 15 minute Basic Workout and it is going great doing this as a whole family (minus dad as he is at work when we do it). Another fun thing to do at home is use a mini trampoline. These are easy to find under $30 at your local discount store, and it fits under a bed or turned on its side in a closet when not in use. Let the kids jump, count, say their ABC’s or math facts while bouncing.
There are also many gyms that allow children to accompany their parent for exercise too. We have been going to the YMCA this winter, and this is working very well for us. We can walk, run, swim, dance, and more despite the cold (wet) winter weather. Be sure to check out all of our family fitness and outdoor learning stories for more ideas and to see our family fitness progress.
ZOO
Walking at the zoo is a good physical and learning activity for the whole family. We took a trip to the Riverbanks Zoo at Columbia, South Carolina this past Saturday. I’ll post a story soon with pictures of the animals and the fun learning adventure we had, but today I wanted to show you some of the physical activity side of this adventure too.
We walked around the zoo for 5 hours. We brought our stroller for the baby, but didn’t realize how tired the 4 and 5 year old would get. So after about an hour of walking, we had to rent two of the strollers at the zoo for them to use. I am thankful the zoo offers this stroller rental resource for families. I saw several families with wagons for their youngsters too, and we just might have to get one of those someday.
We all got a good workout taking turns pushing strollers and walking around. Besides walking, the zoo offers a train and tram, two rock wall climbing towers, a playground, a long bridge that crosses over the river, picnic areas, a real carousal, and a four story tall climbing challenge called the Sky High Safari.
Two of my boys wanted to take the 44 foot high challenge. They literally journeyed high into the tree tops on this challenge. Oooohhhhh….my babies are growing up so fast. They want to take on monumental obstacles………..
….obstacles that I myself am not brave enough to take on. I am so proud of them.
Some of the animal habitats at the zoo are physically interactive too, like the petting zoo, the kangaroo walkabout, pony rides, the shark tank at the aquarium where kids go inside glass bubble tunnels and watch the fish swim around them, and the penguin habitat where they can climb part of the rocks the penguins are also on, but are separated by a glass wall.
Before leaving the zoo, we returned the extra strollers and went to see another animal exhibit. We also got the baby out of his stroller before leaving and we climbed on some life size animal statues. Then we all (including preschoolers and the baby) walked the entire length from the entrance back through two parking lots to our van. The kids had so much fun at the zoo, they didn’t even realize they were getting lots of exercise. Our trip to the zoo was a wonderful family activity.
YMCA
We did our our Cardio Dance class with Natalie at the Y this week. We love this class. This week was jam packed with lots of folks, the most I have seen in there since we began taking it. Natalie encouraged us all to do our best and I felt physically exhausted 1/2 way through. But I managed to keep going. Here is a picture of my kids with Natalie and Mike who lead the class, and another picture of two of the homeschool families we have met in the class.
After dancing we walked a mile (and the boys ran a few of the laps too) on the indoor track. Then we played basketball for 30 minutes.
Next we spent some time in an exercise room approved for kids ages 7 and up. Though there is not any machines in this room, the room is full of other fun hands on items to use. This week we used these “1/2 ball” shaped steps. It is good for balance, coordination, and Cardio training. Right side up or upside down, it is good for balance and strength training too. A fellah using them for push ups took some time to teach my sons how to use them for pushups. This was very hard to do.
We also used some benches for sit ups / leg ups. I found this nearly impossible. I have NO strength in my stomach muscles. I tried and tried on my own and couldn’t budge my legs up. My son raised my legs up so I could do the legs up move. The next day my back was very sore from stretching while doing this. My boys also used the big balls for push ups and sit ups. They jumped ropes too. They are far more active than me!
Hopefully I will get better and better as I come back each week and try again. Be sure to check out last week’s story, WEEK 5, to see how we used more of the other items from this room. You can also read ALL of the progress through the link on the side bar titled Walk and Talk Wednesday.
Food and Activity Journal
Sunday 2/10
Breakfast
Egg Sandwich: 2 eggs, toasted farmer bread 1 slice, American cheese
Lunch
Taco: corn taco shell, ground beef with seasonings, shredded cheddar cheese, taco sauce, avocado slices
Snack
chocolate cake donut with chocolate frosting
Supper
Protien Shake: ½ scoop chocolate whey protein powder, 1 cup ice, ½ cup coffee, ½ cup fresh raw milk, 1 tsp raw honey, 1 tsp coconut oil
4 bbq chicken wings
¼ cup cashews
Vitamins & Supplements:
2 Raspberry Ketones Blend in the morning (raspberry ketones, green tea, African Mango, caffeine, acai fruit extract, )
1 probiotic 15 strains
2 psyllium fiber
1 – enzyme blend
Water: 5
Activity : None
Saturday 2/9
Breakfast
Egg, sausage, cheese, croissant
Lunch
Cheese burger with lettuce, tomato, pickle, ketchup, bun
Snack
Chocolate cake donut with chocolate frosting
Supper
Did not feel hungry, did not eat.
Vitamins & Supplements:
1 probiotic 15 strains
2 psyllium fiber
1 – enzyme blend
Water: 5
Activity:
Walked around the zoo for 5 hours with my family.
Friday 2/8
Breakfast
Toast with peanut butter
Banana
Snack
Protien Shake: ½ scoop chocolate whey protein powder, 1 cup ice, ½ cup coffee, ½ cup fresh raw milk, 1 tsp raw honey, 1 tsp coconut oil
Lunch
Egg salad sandwich
Supper
Raviolis
Garlic bread
Greenbeans
Fruit salad: mandarin oranges, pears, apples, cherry, greek yogurt
Vitamins & Supplements:
1 probiotic 15 strains
2 psyllium fiber
1 – enzyme blend
Water: 5
Activity:
T-Tapp 15 workout
Thursday 2/7
Breakfast
Eggs
Raw Milk
Lunch
Chicken
Carrots
Supper
Fish
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Vitamins & Supplements:
1 probiotic 15 strains
2 psyllium fiber
2 – enzyme blend
Water: 5
Activity:
T-Tapp 15 workout
Wednesday 2/6
Breakfast
Egg, Sausage, Cheese, Croissant
Lunch
Leftover spaghetti
Snack
Raw Milk Protien Smoothie
Cowboy Cookies
Supper
Grilled chicken breast, bacon, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, bun
Vitamins & Supplements:
1 probiotic 15 strains
2 psyllium fiber
2 – enzyme blend
Water: 5
Activity: none
T-Tapp 15 workout
Tuesday 2/5
Breakfast
French Toast (bread, egg, milk, vanilla, cinnamon,) with Maple Syrup
Lunch
Leftover spaghetti, green beans
Supper
Hamburger, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles (no bun)
Vitamins & Supplements:
1 probiotic 15 strains
2 psyllium fiber
2 – enzyme blend
Water: 5
Activity
T-Tapp 15 workout
Monday 2/4
Breakfast
Waffle, peanut butter, banana
Raw milk
Lunch
Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets
Carrots
Supper
Spaghetti
Greenbeans
Carrot Sticks
Pears
Vitamins & Supplements:
1 probiotic 15 strains
2 psyllium fiber
2 – enzyme blend
Water: 5
Activity
T-Tapp 15 workout
Summary Of Progress
I only lost a 1/2 pound this week. It is discouraging to not see a bigger decrease in my weight after doing all of this activity. But I know that weight is not the only way to measure my progress. My family is getting healthier. We are getting more active and making it a priority, and a routine, even through we are still in the winter months of the year. I am pleased with the activity we had this past week and I am looking forward to more progress next week.
This post will be linked up with
Healthy Habits
Raising Homemakers
Sharing Time
Domestically Divine
Walk and Talk Wednesday February Link Up
Please join us and share your fitness stories. You can link up to our monthly link up, or leave a comment to share your progress. If leaving a link up, please place a link on your story back here so others can find us too. I have set this up as a blog hop, and you are welcome to ad the linky code onto your story. I can’t wait to read what you are doing to help your family be healthy. Be blessed!
