TGIF...now what to do with those pesky kids...

I hear it all the time...my kids watch too much tv, play too many video games, and never play outside.  Life is busy, so how can we keep our kids active?

Laura and I were talking yesterday morning about kids and fitness (Crossfit specifically). I thought it was really cool that she was thinking about installing pull up bars and other equipment in the garage for her kids.  The brain kept spinning and here I am writing about kids and getting out and playing.

On average, I'm in the gym 6 days a week.  I take Maya with me about half of that time and she plays and runs around with the other kids.  Sometimes she swings on the rings and does push ups, but the cool thing is she equates working out and going the gym as fun.  It's a big playground to her.

Murdock on the other hand is a pre teen.  Most afternoons he's stuck in the house or at the library doing homework.  Here is where the challenge lies.  And as a male preteen you can guess what his #1 favorite activity is:  Video Games.  He goes to the gym with me maybe one day a week to workout.   Although I will say that I'm thrilled that both Gary and Murdock like to take the air soft guns out into the woods.

So where do we start?
1.  Whatever the activity is, MAKE IT FUN
2.  Don't worry about a specific time limit
3.  Keep it simple, you don't have to go on an all day family hike

Quick Ideas (all of these can be done in 15 minutes before bedtime or in the morning for those early folks like me)
1.  Gymnastic Practice - sometimes Maya, Murdock, Gary and I will practice forward rolls, handstands, cartwheels, & headstands in the living room.  Great fun!
2.  Take any basic movement and do 50-100 reps for time.  Maya always counts in 10's, but the boys and I will race each other and it's quite an accomplishment for the kids to see that they can finish all 100 reps.
3.  Nature walk after dinner - we live on a green belt and will often take a quick 15 minute walk after dinner.  It gets the kids out of the house and they naturally start talking about their day because there's no distractions.  This is one of my favorites.
4.  Short runs - Short 400M, 1/2 mile, and 1 mile runs are great goal builders for kids.  You can time them and show them their improvements over a month or so.  It's a great confidence builder.  The Seattle Kids Marathon is a great example of kids running short distances for a long term goal.  http://www.seattlemarathon.org/kids/eventinfo.htm

As always, share your ideas!  Have a GREAT weekend!!  I'll be trying the coconut water tonight.