5 Exercise-Inspired Games You and Your Kids Can Do at Home

There are so many ways to stay active with your kids during the warmer months. When colder weather comes around it seems to limit daily activities a bit. Here are a few ways to keep your kiddos (and you) moving at home during the chilly winter months by combining popular exercises with fun, competitive games.

Lunge Race -

Set up a start and finish line using masking tape or ribbon (lots of that laying around right now). Line everybody up, say GO and get to squatin’! The first one to the finish line wins! Make sure to use proper technique placing your back knee on the floor and not letting your knees extend past your toes. This is not only for safety, but for the race to be legit. Do this a few times and you and the kids have gotten a great workout both in body and mind because you’re inevitably going to get a fit of the giggles, which is good for everyone!

Exercise Ball Bouncing Fun -

Many of us have those exercise balls floating around the house, and if not, they’re pretty cheap to buy at a discount store. Set a timer for 60 seconds and bounce until the timer goes off, counting as you bounce. Whoever bounces the most times wins. Technique is important with this, too because you don’t want to flop over the back of the ball, so make sure you’re sitting up straight with a strong core. It’s a terrific workout and silly fun, too!

Sing-a-Song and Pass the Ball -

Grab a medium sized ball and get in a line side-by-side. Pick a song you want to sing and as you sing, rotate your body handing the ball to the person next to you without moving your feet so that you’re rotating your waist from left to right. If there are two of you, stand back to back and pass the ball back and forth rotating side-to-side. You can do this several times mixing it up; going slowly, really quickly, singing high and singing really low. Make it silly and fun.

Butterfly Kicks Endurance Race -

Everyone lies down on their back. Raise your feet off the floor about 4 inches and scissor kick your feet back and forth. Make it a contest and see who can keep it up the longest without stopping and putting their feet down. The little ones will giggle most of the time, which is great. And if you have competitive kiddos at home, they’ll have fun trying to win the contest.

Planking Contest -

With elbows and toes on the floor, everyone raises up keeping backs straight and cores strong and straight. Hold the plank position for as long as you can, trying to hold it longer than anyone else. Whoever wins the most times, gets to choose what’s for dinner.