Fitting in fitness this fall

Sep 13, 2012 12:00 PM by SheKnows Parenting Editors

Posted in Parenting / Family Fun / Family Activities

Be A Fit Family

With the days getting shorter and cooler and the kids back in school, chances are that your summer fitness routine isn't working for you anymore. That's OK. Fitness is a lifestyle, and you just need to change it up to fit your current needs.

Morning fit break

Once the kids head off to school, start your day with some exercise. Take a brisk walk and marvel at the changing leaves. Or, stay home and pretend you're in that intense gym class. Do a quick set of 15 jumping jacks to get your blood pumping. Then do some squats, push-ups and crunches. Finish with a nice long, gentle stretch. In less than five minutes, you can get a good bit of exercise in and leave yourself energized for the day.

Sneaky exercise at work

Busy with home, work, life, everything and can't just take a walk? We get it. But you can still fit in a little fitness on the fly. How? Start by parking as far away from your workplace as possible. Take the stairs. Need to speak with a co-worker? Don't pick up the phone, pick yourself up and walk over to her desk. Roam the halls or run up and down the stairs during your breaks. Little things add up! And if you have some time at lunch, slip on your sneakers and head out for a power walk.

Walk-n-shop

Heading to the mall? Awesome. It's a fab place to walk. Take a lap or two around the entire mall before you start to shop. Need groceries? Zoom up and down every aisle of the supermarket even if you don't need anything from some of the aisles. This walking adds up, no matter where you do it.

Make family time fit

Fitness isn't just about you — it's about your whole family. Enjoy the cooler air by playing outside with your kids, walking your dog a little further each day or entering a walk-a-thon as a family. Or head off to the apple orchard and enjoy walking through the trees (and picking lots of apples!) with the kids.

Everyday fitness

There are opportunities to get a little fitness in all over your house too. Do your own lawn and housework. Pull weeds. Rake those falling leaves. With the calories you've burned and the money you've saved, you can do something fun as a family.

Park and go!

Fall is a perfect time to hit the park. The park isn't just fun for the kids, it's an opportunity to exercise a bit too. Bring your tennis rackets or basketball and play a bit before heading to the playground. Or head off on a hike on your park's trails. Your kids will love it.

More ways to fit in exercise

There are infinite possibilities for fitting fitness in this fall. Walk some laps while your child's at soccer practice. Do squats while waiting for the bus to arrive. Heck, you can even take advantage of the roughly 15 minutes of commercial time in hour-long television shows to do push-ups, jog in place, do squats and more.

This fall, instead of giving up on your fitness, break it up, and you'll sail through the season with energy to spare.

More on fitness

Mom's guide to finding the right gym
Fitness classes for a busy mom
3 Cardio routines you can do without the gym

Tags: exercise and fitness family fitness

Comments

Comments on "Fitting in fitness this fall"

These are some really great tips on how to get active. I love how it gives tips for a little or a lot of time. One of my biggest excuses is not enough time to exercise, but little things really don't have to take so long and they really make a difference as they add up!

At my work we have recently switched to employees having to park farther than in the past. I was hesitant at first, but really enjoy those 5 minutes walks to and from my car. It gives me a little extra energy and helps wake me up!

We have a lot of trees in our yard so my family gets its exercise in the fall by raking leaves. It’s a lot of fun because we know we’re exercising and burning calories, and after a long day outdoors we go out for pizza. Just like Erin’s ice cream it kind of defeats the purpose of doing all that work, but it’s still fun to have earned our pizza and break even calorie-wise. We stay active lots of other ways too.

I love yoga, and for me, it's really easy to find thirty minutes, maybe in the morning before the kids are awake or right before I go to bed, to do some really basic positions and breathing exercises. It can help you be energized for the day and also help you be calm and relaxed for bedtime.

I love finding ways for my family and I to make fitness a priority. Today, we decided to walk around the mall and window shop for awhile. It was fun and got everyone out of the house. Granted, we probably defeat the "fitness" part of it by stopping for icecream midway through our stroll, haha!