5 Fitness Challenges to Get the Whole Family Moving
There’s nothing like a little friendly competition to bring the family closer. So why not turn your plain-old, ordinary exercises into a family fitness challenge.
Experts recommend individuals spend at least 150 minutes per week exercising or being active, so we’ve compiled a list of exercises that can easily be converted into fitness challenges for you and the whole family to do together. Completing one or two of these challenges a week will help you satisfy that weekly workout requirement. Group challenges inevitably motivate you to push yourself a harder, and they can even help you squeeze out an extra rep (or two or three).
The cherry on top is that these fitness challenges don’t require any hardcore workout equipment; all you need is maybe a few chairs, some floor space, and a few willing participants. Below are five of our favorite:
Mountain Climbers:
Begin in plank position, hands under your shoulders, arms straight, head looking forward. Keeping your back straight, bring one knee to your chest, then back to plank. Repeat with the other leg, increasing speed as you go. See who can last the longest!
Jabs:
A great way to get out frustration and pent up energy, jabs are a good workout for even the most devout pacifist. To start, get into a “fighting stance” — abs tight, hands in fists guarding your chin, shoulders relaxed, hips should-width apart. On an exhale, punch straight with one arm without locking the elbow. Return to starting position and repeat. Who will get tired first?
Bicycle Crunches:
This one will have everyone feeling the burn. Tighten up those abs with this grueling bicycle crunch challenge. Lie on your back with your feet on the floor, knees bent, hands behind your ears. Press your lower back into the floor, engage your abs, and lift you head, shoulders and upper back. At the same time, twist to bring your right elbow to your left knee while simultaneously straightening your right leg. It’s like peddling a bike… only worse. First to 100 crunches wins!
Monday Mile:
Who will reach the finish line first? Speed walk, jog, run — it doesn’t matter how your family chooses to complete the task. Map out a cool trail through town or some other more rural paths. Along with your weekly Monday Mile, look for any charity walks or runs raising money for a cause that you and your family support.
Push-Up and Rotation:
If misery loves company, you’ll want the whole family here for this one. The push-up and rotation targets your abs, triceps, upper back, chest, and shoulders, making it a complete upper-body and core workout. Begin in a push-up position with your body off the floor. After one push-up, twist your body to the right and raise your right arm to the ceiling, into a side plank. Return to start and repeat on the other side. Set a timer for three minutes – who can do the most?