Spring
break is just around the corner. If you're planning a "staycation"
this year, the last thing you want is to have the family plopped down on
the sofa in front of that TV or computer screen for a week. As you can see above, we have the mountains within a 30 minute drive from us. We love to get out and hike whenever we can! Or just even go up and enjoy a bon fire! Here are
some fitness options for a fun and fit holiday close to home, from Shana
Schneider, fitness expert and founder of FITWEEK, a fitness company dedicated to helping women "turn their week into a fit week."
Play old school games. Remember
things like red light/green light, Simon says, duck-duck-goose, musical
chairs, or freeze tag? These are lots of fun, and free! Or, for older
kids, go to an arcade. See who has the skills for Pac Man or Skee
Ball.
Head to the park. Find
a list of all the parks in your city and make a plan to visit as many
as you can during the break. As part of the fun, pack a picnic. This
way, your kids can still run around outside and you’ll all be ready for a
nap afterwards. Check out the playgrounds or the trails, and then when
home, place stickers on a map of your city identifying each parks and
playgrounds you have visited.
Watch a movie marathon. The key here is
to make fitness part of the viewing. Here’s how it could work - assign a
character to each family member; that person has to get up and sit
down, or do some exercise each time the assigned character comes on the
screen. It’s pretty funny to see people randomly get up and down
throughout the movie. There’ll be some giggles involved, which can get
your abs working, too!
Visit a museum. They
usually run walking tours and will often have activities for kids. If
you’re in the Connecticut area, check out the children’s museums, which
are interactive fun for the whole family. And no one has to worry about
not touching the exhibits.
Cook in the kitchen, and use
that elbow grease. Do something out of the ordinary like making bread
or pizza dough from scratch. When getting those ingredients together,
remember no electric mixers allowed!
Learn a new sport or activity. Try
yoga for the first time together, or take a dance class. If someone in
the family is an expert at a particular sport have them teach the others
how to play it.
Host an active video game tournament. If
you have a video game console, set up your own family tournament and
compete in a different sport each day. Need more people involved? Invite
the neighbors or other friends over to join you. Choose from - golfing,
tennis, boxing, snowboarding, dancing and the list goes on. You can
even divide up the groups so you have adults play one game and kids
another. The point is you want to pick games that get everyone moving!
