The era of the busy family has made in near impossible for families to set aside time to get active together. At the end of a busy day, we rarely have enough energy to say goodnight to each other, much less schedule time to go for a walk together as a family.
And this is where the USA Today Family Fitness Challenge set out to change that. USA Today realizes how busy we are, but they also recognize the need for families to get out and play together to keep the bonds between us strong and our bodies healthy.
On July 1, USA Today issued their Family Fitness Challenge, designating eight weeks of family fun activities.
Week one: Designate an active staycation day in which the family heads outdoors to explore. Hiking, geocaching, building sandcastles… the possibilities are endless.
Week two: Family fun sports challenge. Divide the family into teams and go head to head competitively. Table tennis, mini-golf, volleyball, touch football or kickball are just a few of the possibilities you and yours can enjoy together.
Week three: Get retro active! We are so caught up in our every day, technological activities, we forget sometimes that our grandparents grew up in a world without television. Spend at least one hour every day of the week doing an outdoor family activity kids of yesteryear would have enjoyed. Hopscotch, sack races, Red Rover… get creative.
Week four: Learn a dance together. I’m all for learning the chicken dance! I wonder if my family will comply.
Week five: Set up an outdoor family game hour every night. Horseshoes, Twister, bean bag tosses… this has the potential of setting a whole new tone to family game night.
Week six: Have an outdoor scavenger hunt. Create a list of must-finds and set aside one or two hours to head out and find all the items on your list. Walking is highly recommended, so take your surroundings into consideration when making up your list.
Week seven: Inspire your inner-child by heading out to the local park and playing on the playground as a family. Look out! I’m first on the slide. W00!
Week eight: Get outdoors and go camping. Even if you set up a tent in the backyard, spending the night outdoors by a fire is a great way to bond with the whole family.
The best part? USA Today wants to see video and pictures of your family taking the challenge, so be sure to commemorate every event with plenty of pics and videos.