Family Fitness Fun

Debi Pillarella M.Ed.

Debi Pillarella, M.Ed., C.P.T. is the Exercise Program Manager at The Community Hospital Fitness Pointe. She is an A.C.E. certified Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Professional, and Advanced Health & Fitness Specialist.

Debi serves as the National Youth Fitness Spokesperson for A.C.E. She lives in Munster with her husband, Jim and two children Joe (age 12) and Luke (age 10). For more information on Fitness Pointe's Youth Fitness Programs, call (219) 924-5348.

Special Thanks to the following:

Tracy Oedzes -- Certified Personal Trainer and Mom

Kyle and Abby Oedzes

Lena and Blake Newton

Joe and Luke Pillarella

Kids are not "miniature" adults, so traditional exercise programming recommendations don't fare well. If you ask kids about participating in a traditional "exercise" class (i.e. aerobics, calisthenics, etc) most will tell you it's boring and they don't want to join. However, if we transform "exercise" into fitness "play" and focus on having fun while being active, we're sure to have them coming back, asking for more. As far as us parents, not many of us can spend as much time working out as we should, so what better way to shape up, burn calories and bond with our children than to make fitness a family affair.

Disclaimer:

This program provides general family fitness recommendations for apparently "healthy" children and their families. Check with your physician for specific recommendations regarding your participation in the suggested activities.

Modify activities as needed. Do NOT work through pain or discomfort. Begin each session with the warm "up" then add each week's activity to provide variety and fun. Start with 10-15 minutes of fitness play and work up to 30-60 minutes on most days of the week. Finish up each session by cooling down, re-hydrating, stretching, and talking with your kids about being healthy and fit. Kids are natural movers who LOVE start/stop activities as opposed to sustained ones (i.e. running for 45 minutes nonstop). So, give 'em frequent breaks, keep 'em hydrated with water, and let them have fun!

WEEK TWO OF SIX

Backyard Fitness -- Part 2

Following 3 to 5 minutes of warm up activities (i.e. marching in place, jogging around the yard, playing follow the leader, etc) set up fitness play stations around your backyard. Add last week's stations to those listed here for a well rounded, total body, family fitness workout. Visit each station for 30 to 60 seconds and "play" the activities designated below. To add more cardio play, run, skip or gallop around the outside of the house when moving from station to station.

Circle Squats & Jump

Hold hands and form a circle. Bend knees and imagine sitting into a chair squat. Mom (or dad) yells JUMP and everyone immediately jumps up into the air as if they sat on a "hot seat."

Snakes Under The Bridge

Family members form a body bridge with one behind the other, feet in wide stance. One child is the snake, at the back of the bridge, who has to "army crawl" under the bridge to get to the other side. Once he/she has crawled under the bridge, he runs to the end to become the last piece of the bridge and the first child runs to the back to become the snake. Play continues until everyone gets a turn to be a snake.