Exercise Like a Kid
Who said exercise must be a chore, something that you do because you have to! Thinking that exercise is a chore may stem from various factors, such as a lack of interest in traditional workouts, time constraints, past negative experiences, or simply exercising to punish your body.
It’s time to end this way of thinking! Exercise can be fun, enjoyable and give you great health benefits. Just find something fun that you enjoy doing. Think back to when you were a child, and you would run around in the park and swing on the monkey bars (I’ll admit I was never very good at these, but I loved trying). I think that is partly the point, as a child, we never gave up, we just kept practising because it was fun, and we didn’t even realise that we were getting lots of exercise at the same time.
So, how do we get our inner child back? Reconnect with activities that you did as a child such as jumping on a trampoline, playing tag or playing sports that you enjoyed as a child. Making exercise feel like play can rekindle a sense of joy making it more enjoyable.
Try the following with your partner, kids or friends, become a kid again for a little while and escape from the stresses of daily life for a short time:
- Skipping. Either skip individually with a rope or if there are enough of you have two people holding the rope whilst the rest of you jump in and out (now this was my favourite thing to do, and I was actually quite good at lol 😊).
- Hula Hooping. Stick some music on and hula hoop away. Latin music will make you feel like you’re on holiday as you hula your worries away. Try a weighted hula hoop as these are easier to use, and they will give you a great workout.
- Trampoline. If your kids have a trampoline in the garden, get jumping on that – this is a fab cardio workout as well as being a lot of fun. If you don’t have a trampoline, you can buy the small fitness ones which will also give you the feel-good feeling of jumping.
- If you have a bike, go out for a ride. When we were younger, we’d ride our bikes for hours without thinking anything of it. Try to find time to do the same now, without worrying that you only have an hour or two. Get away from the main roads and enjoy the fresh air.
- Play tag with your kids. This is another game where we never seemed to get tired so try to recreate that feeling of fun and abandonment.
How do you fancy going back to the 80s? Scary thought lol – I’d love to and wouldn’t love to at the same time! On Sunday 17th March, come and join us as we step back into the 80s for an hour of 80s aerobics. Get those leg warmers ready, prepare for some cracking 80s hits, and let’s go back in time 😊 Email us to book on! You can also see our other fun events here.
Remember to find activities that excite you and make you feel like a kid again and have some fun whilst promoting both fitness and enjoyment. Have a look at our ‘quirky ways to exercise blog’ for some more ideas: Quirky Ways to Exercise – W Fitness.
If you have a child who loves dancing (a great way to exercise), then book them onto our kids dance camp on Wednesday 3rd April, 1pm – 3:30pm, where they’ll have lots of fun and learn a dance routine to show to parents at the end of the session. Email us on wfitnesshorsforth@gmail.com for more details and to book.
Much Love
Caroline & Hannah xx