lovemywhirlygirls Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Wondering how many of you take walks together or run together or ride bikes together to get your day going or as part of your day. I feel very convicted about getting my family moving more. We've played a lot at the pool this summer which has been good for all of us and they'll have basketball January-March. Need something more consistent. I confess low motivation to actually move myself, so I'm looking for those "best thing I ever did was institute a morning walk" stories. Thanks in advance for sharing your family's plan to get moving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 My kids ice skate 6-7 days/week so we have no exercise issues. My daughter also got a new bike (very early birthday present to take advantage of the warm weather). Since she has been outside riding, kids have been coming out of the woodwork to ride with her. Unfortunately I have a serious knee problem and cannot do any exercise but swimming. So I get to sit on the sidelines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TulaneMama Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 My husband is doing Gym with the children this year. He is teaching them about various sports and then are practicing them together. He takes DS 9yo running and then he takes DD4yo running. We all do stretches together before they go out for their tuns. They are also doing bike rides, hitting the balls at the tennis courts, shooting hoops, and generally working on core fitness. Have you checked out crossfit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Our family walk is every night. During the spring and summer we walk to the lake and back (about 2 miles round trip). Or about 3x a week we go to the track at the middle school. Dh will jog with ds12 and dd7 walks with me. Then we will walk together for a cool-down lap or two. During the fall and winter we walk at the mall. I get the first 2 laps to walk with dh and talk over the day while ds12 and dd7 walk about 20 feet ahead of us. Ds12 gets the third lap to talk dh's ear off about computers. Dd7 will talk my ear off during that lap as we pretend to be all grown up. She tells me all about her children's activities. Sometimes her kids "call" and I get to do their voices! The fourth lap, dd7 talks dh's ear off about gymnastics related stuff. Ds12 still talks non-stop about computers but to me instead of dh for this lap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loupelou Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 We walk/bike ride to the park, it's just less than a mile from our house with a big pond/walking trail. The kids play on the equipment and I walk. We also go to a great bike/walking trail not far from us at least once a week, it's 4 miles around the circuit. We are also really enjoying the Wii Fit, sometimes dh and I will go on a run together, the kids like to sit and watch and then they get a turn. Anytime we go somewhere we pack the double jogging stroller and a couple of scooters. With summer here we've enjoyed getting out the baseball and soccer equipment. It will be harder in the fall/winter but I think we will keep it up with the Wii. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxMama Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 We have been doing this for 10+years. We have 1m-5mi treks mapped out around town and we keep track of our mileage on the calender. Everytime we hit 100 miles we celebrate. I'm only tracking the miles for the little kids and we usually walk in the 1-2 mile range so it takes us about 3 months to reach a 100 miles. Their favorite celebration is a family putt putt golf day. I started this when my older kids were 6 & 7 and now at 18 and 19 exercise is just a normal part of their life. You could also check out the Presidental Fitness Awards. There is a place to track exercise and you can earn ( buy) awards for your time spent on fitness. My kids are happy with our 100 mile award program. Best thing ever! Just Nike used to say "Just Do It!". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in CA Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 We jog together. We started going through 'From the Couch to 5K' as a family. The goal is to run a 5K together. Susie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemywhirlygirls Posted August 1, 2009 Author Share Posted August 1, 2009 Thanks for your responses. I like the idea of keeping track of miles walked with some sort of family outing as a perk. That will be their motivation and their begging me to go will be mine! I had forgotten about Crossfit. Will check into that again. Thanks, All! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katemary63 Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 We walk in the evening on the farm. DD8 and I walk about as fast as we can and DH just circles back when he gets too far ahead of us. The dogs all follow and so does the cat. We make the rounds on the farm road and then head up the steap hill to my in-laws house where we "check in on the lunies" and then walk back home. :D We walk about 30 minutes, sometimes more if it's not too humid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 After dinner, we walk to the park or to a great rope swing that is about 3/4 of a mile down the trail from our house. We try to get home before the coyotes come out. Most days the kids run ahead, some days they lag behind and chat. Our walks are a treasured part of our day. I get the kids ready to go while hubby loads the dishwasher so that we can get out of the house as quickly as possible. On weekends, we usually go for much longer walks/hikes which will extend from 1 to 5 hours and take us to beautiful, peaceful places. This is wonderful for us all. We also take long bike rides together taking turns pulling the youngest in a trailer. We've worked over the past years to orient ourselves so that we spend our time outside and active. These things are free, healthy, and bring us closer together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemywhirlygirls Posted August 1, 2009 Author Share Posted August 1, 2009 Oh how I wish I lived in the country or on land. That would provide lots of inspirational walks. The neighborhood we live in is in a metro area. Old neighborhood (20s, 30s), only an occasional sidewalk. Stray dogs can make it a bit iffy for walking etc. So, I usually have to load everyone up and GO somewhere to walk. Can't explain why that is a mental block for me, but it is. The YMCA indoor track is for 13+ so that's a no-go. There are parks and paths about 10 minutes away, but to do this consistently has not been happening. I'd love to walk in the am to get the day started. I've just got to do it. I've got to get everyone up and going at least 2-3 times a week. That would be a huge improvement on where we are now. Thanks for sharing what you do. I love reading your stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandellie4 Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 We walk our dogs together every morning, and IT MAKES SUCH A DIFFERENCE IN EVERYONE'S ATTITUDE WHEN WE SIT DOWN TO WORK. One or more of us (kids and grownups alike) will wake up with angst and by the end of the walk, we've settled into our day a bit better. Even the younger ones tell me that even though they sometimes are grouchy about going on the morning walk, they always feel better when we get home. One caveat that we have, though: no talking about school stuff until we get to the white mailbox with the cow on it, at which point we can line up our schedules for the day. We treat this time as family time, like when we eat meals together. It's a supportive time, when we can encourage each other, talk about current events, our days, etc. But no school. Good luck in finding something that helps your family get off to a good start in the morning. :001_smile: Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemywhirlygirls Posted August 3, 2009 Author Share Posted August 3, 2009 Thanks, Sandy! Perfect encouragement for me on many levels. I appreciate it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigi Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 I have always had good intentions of doing a family "walk" but our schedules are so different I never have been able to work it out. I have four boys and what finally worked is doing t-tapp's basic workout together. It is about 15 minutes and has actually held our interest because we are always working on our form. And once again we are going to try and get in walking during the school day before school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle My Bell Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 Almost every night we go on a bike ride or walk. Even my cats go on walks with us. It is hilarious and my neighbors often step outside to comment. We like to go around 8-8:30 after the heat of the day has passed, the sun is low yet it is still light out. It is so pleasant. Michelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satori Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 We started geocaching. So several times a week we all go on a hike and find little treasures. :) Yesterday we found one at 12,000 feet altitude, the day before one on the Continental Divide. (We live in the mountains.) Our dog unfortunately, had ACL surgery last month, so we can't walk with her, plus there are bears and mountain lions around our house, so it's a bit scary to walk outside now. Somehow I find it easier to hike on trails even when we do see a lion in the forest near them. When my little one gets older, I would love to do a running routine with her outdoors, and in the winter we can use our treadmill and elliptical indoors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muffinmom Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 Oh how I wish I lived in the country or on land. That would provide lots of inspirational walks. The neighborhood we live in is in a metro area. Old neighborhood (20s, 30s), only an occasional sidewalk. Stray dogs can make it a bit iffy for walking etc. So, I usually have to load everyone up and GO somewhere to walk. Can't explain why that is a mental block for me, but it is. The YMCA indoor track is for 13+ so that's a no-go. There are parks and paths about 10 minutes away, but to do this consistently has not been happening. I'd love to walk in the am to get the day started. I've just got to do it. I've got to get everyone up and going at least 2-3 times a week. That would be a huge improvement on where we are now. Thanks for sharing what you do. I love reading your stories. I know what you mean...I also have a mental block on "going somewhere" to exercise. Drives me mad (which is why I don't exercise at the Y). But since we live near each other, you're welcome to park at our house and walk around...we have great sidewalks here and fun houses to look at! :D Or, if you can keep going, try Shelby Bottoms. My kids love it there. I like it when it's not hot! Which brings me to one of my motivations lately...we've had such a mild summer, as you know, and these evenings have been lovely. I'm trying to take advantage of every comfortable moment outside. It could end anytime! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemywhirlygirls Posted August 3, 2009 Author Share Posted August 3, 2009 Thanks, Muffinmom. Once I get us going and load up and go, I'm good. It's just getting to that point that I'm not so good with. :0) Pretty interesting reading about the Couch to 5k reports that others are making. Maybe I'll go totally crazy and start running! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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