HBO has partnered with the Institute of Medicine to premiere The Weight of the Nation, a four-part documentary series chronicling the country’s grave struggle with obesity.

SPARK is heavily invested in improving children’s health across the country, and we hope that you’ll take the time to watch the series. Through The Weight of the Nation, HBO is taking a significant step toward increasing awareness of the growing obesity epidemic and its implications.

The documentary shines a spotlight on many of the issues surrounding obesity, its causes, and its effects on health and everyday life with case studies and interviews with the country’s leading experts and the people struggling with it. In addition, the documentary series takes an unflinching look at all facets of childhood obesity, from school meals to declining physical education programs and beyond.

The documentary aims not only to raise awareness but cause action. It’s imperative for adults and children nationwide to shift toward a healthier lifestyle, and now. Our future depends on it.

Weight of the Nation viewing schedule:
Part 1 – “Consequences” – Monday, May 14th at 8:00 p.m.
Part 2 – “Choices” – Monday, May 14th at 9:10 p.m.
Part 3 – “Children in Crisis” – Tuesday, May 15th at 8:00 p.m.
Part 4 – “Challenges” – Tuesday, May 15th at 9:10 p.m.

If you don’t have HBO, you can still see the documentary series. All four parts will be available to view for free for an unlimited time at hbo.com/theweightofthenation starting May 14th.
On May 16th, watch the first part of another series called The Weight of the Nation for Kids at 7:00 p.m. (all three parts will be available this fall).

Gather your friends and family, and tune in to this very important documentary.

Also- Click Here to view another video on Childhood Obesity and how we can overcome this national epidemic.

Watch the Weight of the Nation trailer:

What a enjoyable and memorable event!  It was really nice to attend a meeting of less than 1,000 (or many more) people for a change.  And to be in the same room with others who are passionate about health and wellness.  Coach Stacey Fowler served as the moderator and her anecdotes were consistently inspirational and stimulating.  Amy Forrest helped with facilitation and ensured the timing was right and schedule ran like a Swiss clock.  President Diane Hart was gracious and welcoming to everyone.  This is quite a team folks!  Also want to mention that activity breaks were integrated into the schedule — walking the talk.

Others that attended and presented ranged from Jim Whitehead who is the Executive V.P. and CEO of ACSM; Tom McMillen, the former college and NBA star, Congressperson, and now serving as Board Chairman for the National Foundation on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition (NFFSN — note the fairly new name?) — which supports the President’s Council and the First Lady’s Let’s Move initiative.  Jacqui Epping from CDC got everyone caught up with changes and programs there, and Rich Killingsworth, the Executive Director of the NFFSN gave an outstanding presentation around our shared roles and responsiblities in providing and supporting public health programs.  Others in the group included Phil Haberstro, Shellie Pfohl, Linda Brissenden, Brett Fischer, Jacqui Shumway, Shawna Dosser, Nicole Williams, Edna Munoz – Lash, just to name a few of many superstars.

All in all, a terrific professional growth opportunity that was enjoyable and efficacious.  Congrats and thanks to the hosts!

If you’d like to learn more about the National Association for Health and Fitness:  http://www.physicalfitness.org/

-Paul Rosengard

Click Here to view a recording of our webinar, Apps for PE Teachers: “Don’t be a Sap, Know Your Apps!”. The webinar goes into more detail of how each app can be used in the classroom to engage students and maximize outcomes.

Coach’s Eye

• Videos students performing a skill. Then, play it back in slow-mo, backward, or frame by frame. You can draw and record a playback with verbal comments. Overall, a really great app for skill assessment allowing instant feedback for students. - Link

Team Shake

• Team Shake is the technological and environmentally friendly way to choose teams. Instead of a hat and scraps of paper, the user enters his friends’ names in his iPhone and gives it a shake. The screen will then display a random set of color-coded teams. These teams can immediately be used for game play or saved via email. Team Shake is great for making teams for board games and sporting events. It’s also a very useful tool for teachers who need to create groups for projects! – Link

StopWatch

• This stopwatch shows time on a digital display as well as on an analog clock face. The analog clock face is easy to collect information from during timing of a physical activity task or test. After the timing has finished, it is most convenient to read the precise time from the digital display. -Link

Giant Scoreboard

• A generic scoreboard, featuring: Timer/Countdown (editable); Team names (editable); Giant digits, visible from 50ft; Fits any sport; Simple, accurate and reliable. -Link

Nutrition Tips

• This app gives you hundreds of interesting and useful nutrition tips and nutritional health facts — concisely written for quick and easy review.
• Referenced from Nutrition.gov, USDA.gov, and the Food and Nutrition Information Center, some of the most prominent leaders in food & human nutrition information! -Link

Pocket First Aid & CPR from the American Heart Association

• Pocket First Aid & CPR from the American Heart Association helps save a life in Haiti. Read the incredible story of Dan Woolley, who survived 65 hours under rubble using this application. As seen on CNN, NBC Nightly News, Fox News, London Daily Mail, NPR, and many more. – Link

iFitness HD

• An exercise companion app. Provides over 330 exercise images and full text descriptions. Allows tracking of progress for multiple users. Users create customized workouts. – Link

Pocket Body

• A fully searchable interactive atlas of the human body. – Link

Pocket Heart (iPad App)

• Interactive educational App to show how the human heart works in 3D. A great learning tool for cardiac anatomy and physiology. – Link

Teacher’s Assistant

• Teachers can keep track of student actions, behavior, infractions, and achievements in the classroom. This improves communicate quickly and easily with parents and administrators by documenting student classroom habits and behaviors and sending reports via email or making a call right from an iPhone. -Link

Easy Assessment

• Easy Assessment is the app teachers, trainers and coaches have been waiting for. A simple way to capture and assess performance in any context or situation. Experience a new level of efficiency. -Link

Timer Tools

• You get a suite of timers that are super easy to use. Timers include: Countdown, Stop Watch, Turn Timer, Seconds Up, Seconds Down, and Interval Timer. Access and set any timer with just a few clicks. -Link

Teacher’s Roll Call

• Teacher’s Roll Call helps classroom instructors at any level track student attendance. The app is designed to make data entry and management quick and efficient so you have more time to focus on actual teaching. -Link

Class Cards

• After entering the names of your students  this app will display a randomly generated list of students.  The list will not only show you the name of the student to call upon but will also show the names of the next four students to call upon. -Link

Bracketmaker

• This is a great portable program to help you create brackets for tournaments. Able to customize team names for up to 32 teams. -Link

MusicWorkout

• A unique interval timer that utilizes your music to inform you when it’s time to rest and time to work. Perfect for teachers, coaches, trainers and those looking to improve their fitness. Simply set the work and rest duration, along with the number of sets to begin your workout. -Link

Numbers

• Numbers is the spreadsheet application for iPad. This App is needed to utilize SPARK iPad Rubrics. -Link

Educareations

• Educreations turns your iPad into a recordable whiteboard. Diagram a sports plays through voice recording, realistic digital ink, photo imports, and simple sharing through email, Facebook or Twitter. -Link

Fotobabble

• Fotobabble lets you capture moments in real-time and share with your audience via email, Facebook or Twitter. Fotobabble is faster than video, easier than typing, and more engaging descriptive than sending a picture alone. -Link

Snap Guide

• Snapguide is a simple way to share and view step-by-step how to guides. Students can show skill progression or demonstrate the rules of a game by creating their own guides and share through email, Twitter, Facebook and more. -Link

Whiteboard VGA

• Whiteboard offers real-time collaborative teaching tool. Connect with any iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, or Mac over Wi-Fi, to draw pictures and customize a demonstration.  Allows you to import your own pictures to display. -Link

Beep Test

• The beep test (also known as the pacer test and shuttle run test) is a standard fitness test used by professionals to test cardiovascular fitness. The beep test involves running back and forth between two markers  at an increasing pace as indicated by audio beeps. Your fitness level will then be calculated based on how long you can keep the pace. -Link

Cardiograph

• Cardiograph is an application, which measures your heart rate. You can save your results for future reference, and even keep track of multiple people with individual profiles. -Link

FitnessHD

• This app provides tools for teachers and students to improve their health by tracking their progress through the calorie counter and body tracker as well as view diagrams and videos of exercises and workouts. -Link

Pedometer

• Pedometer will work as you walk, run, jog or do your treadmill. The special algorithm – the same as used in hardware pedometers – is implemented in the application. -Link

Coin Toss

• Simulates a coin toss by sliding your finger from the bottom to the top, and watching the coin spin and decide your fate. -Link

And so it goes. Students in every grade level at schools across the country are struggling in class. It’s not because they’re underachievers, or they’re not smart, or they don’t care. It’s because we’re working against them. The longer children and teens are forced to sit and grow roots in their chairs, the harder it will be for them to bloom.

There is myriad research that proves that students need adequate amounts of physical activity throughout the school day—not only do they prevent obesity and obesity-related issues, but they perform better academically also.

Just ask the CDC, Columbia University, the New York City Health Department and Department of Education, the Universities of Illinois, West Virginia, and California.

They’ve all published research that stands behind the need for physical education in the school system.

The CDC states, “…physical activity can have an impact on cognitive skills and attitudes and academic behavior, all of which are important components of improved academic performance. These include enhanced concentration and attention as well as improved classroom behavior.”

And there’s more. Active Living Research says, “In some cases, more time in physical education leads to improved grades and standardized test scores.” In schools that are under government mandates to bridge the achievement gap (and when those mandates encourage “teaching to the test”), physical education can actually help improve the students’ scores.

Unfortunately, many schools cut physical education and PE funding with the belief that more rigid classroom time would somehow stimulate students to learn more. It’s an incorrect belief, and there’s scientific evidence to prove it.

Exercise directly impacts the behavior and development of the brain. “It is likely that the effects of physical activity on cognition would be particularly important in the highly plastic developing brains of youth,” according to a 2010 essay penned by Charles Basch of Columbia University.

He summarized how exercise may affect executive functioning:

• Increased oxygen flow to the brain
• Increased brain neurotransmitters
• “[Increased] brain-derived neurotrophins that support neuronal differentiation and survival in the developing brain.” Neurotrophins assure the survival of neurons in areas responsible for learning, memory, and higher thinking.

Physical activity has benefits beyond improved grades, too. Basch extrapolates current research and connects physical activity to absenteeism, drop-out rates, and social connectedness.

“Drop-out rates were lower for youth who consistently participated in interscholastic sports,” he writes, though he cautions that forcing kids to join sports won’t solve the drop-out problem that plagues many inner city schools, it simply may foster an environment of connectedness that could keep at-risk students attending school.

That’s the core of it all; that’s why we’re here. We want our students to get a quality education, even though their life situation or choices often make it difficult. But every child, regardless of financial background, should have equal access to excellent education.

It’s not good enough to push them through the school system and let them fend for themselves in the real world. We must use their formative years to give them the tools they can use to survive and provide for their own families. When they have children, they’ll be able to pass on knowledge we gave them. We’re creating a positive future for generations to come.

So what can school districts do to inject more activity and movement into the school day?

First, administrators must let go of the dated idea that PE must take a backseat.

“There is currently no evidence indicating that this strategy is, in fact, effective in increasing standardized test scores,” according to the Columbia University essay. “In fact, a growing body of evidence shows that increased time for physical education and other school-based physical activity programs is associated with either a neutral or positive impact on academic outcomes.”

By the way, Columbia University is ranked among the leaders in the top-tier of best research universities in the U.S.

The evidence is clear. Physical activity should have a place in the curriculum of every school that’s serious about teaching its kids.

The National Association for Sport and Physical Education recommends 60 minutes a day for children and adolescents. Schools should provide 150 minutes per week of instructional physical education for elementary school children, and 225 minutes per week for middle and high school students throughout the school year.

Adequate PE curriculum can help children achieve these numbers, in turn creating healthy bodies and eager-to-learn minds. Adequate physical education doesn’t stop there; it sets children up for a healthy adulthood, perpetuating a cycle of well-being for generations to come.

What’s the missing link between reducing obesity and increasing America’s ability to compete in a tough global economy? Physical education.

Want to learn more about the link between Academics and Physical Activity? Click Here to access a collection of Articles/Publications/Webinars on the subject.

For example, say there are two children. Both get adequate physical activity—playing at recess, at home, and on the weekends. Only one of them has been fortunate enough to receive physical education throughout elementary, middle, and high school. Fast forward to the future. Chances are that the child who took PE is the one who has brought health into their adulthood.

Physical Activity

Recess is fantastic. It’s a time for kids to run around and around with only their imaginations, a few swings and a basketball hoop. It’s what makes being a kid so great. This kind of fun counts for physical activity, not education.

When kids are at home and head out to play freeze tag or red light green light, or when they head to dance practice, or when they chase lightning bugs around the yard, it also accounts for physical activity. It’s important. It releases endorphins, builds muscle and bone density, and improves coordination.

But physical activity does not complete the picture of good health for our children. Physical education contains physical activity, but it also contains a lot of other things that set up children for long-term health of the body, mind, and spirit.

Physical Education

According to the 2010 Shape of the Nation report conducted by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and the American Heart Association, “Physical education is based on a sequence of learning … [which] also includes health, nutrition, social responsibility, and the value of fitness throughout one’s life.”

Unfortunately, the past few years have been unkind to those gym and health classes (collectively, PE) that were cut as a result of schools “teaching to the test.” Math, science, and reading took precedent over PE time, which doesn’t quite fit in to decreased budgets.

The Shape of the Nation report continues: “Providing time for unstructured physical activity is not the same as providing instructional time for meeting the goals of quality physical education.”

Besides, as students grow and head into high school, the “unstructured physical activity” they get during free periods might consist of walking to the nearest convenience store or idly wandering about the hallways.

This just won’t do, especially as students are studying for tests that will decide where they head next, be it vocational school, college or into the workforce or military.

It won’t do in younger students either, when they’re learning material that gives them basic skills and knowledge everyone should know: simple math, critical reading and spelling, and the science of our world.

Why? Physical education provides physical activity, which studies show helps to improve academic performance. Physical education also provides knowledge—the knowledge every human being needs to stay healthy throughout their lifetime.

So what is physical education exactly?

The education aspect comes into play when teachers combine motion with minds. For example, middle school challenges can involve running to different locations to put together a puzzle, or to seek out objects on a map. Also, education can focus on specific skills and coordination, like how to throw a flying disc or use a hockey stick. High schools will learn the value of nutrition and pair that will circuit training. They’ll learn how to set goals and how to stay active in achieving those goals.

Research is the basis for each of these strategies. These examples and others are proven to work, not only to improve the health knowledge of students, but to improve their ability to comprehend other subjects as well.

The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) is an association dedicated to the health and well-being of America’s youth. The Alliance’s members (NASPE, for one) are a wealth of information about the importance of physical education, the research behind the information, and why it’s important in the first place.

It’s this heralded research that SPARK is based upon.

SPARK aligns itself with the standards set by NASPE, author of the Shape of the Nation report. SPARK takes those standards and adds the processes that make the standards attainable.

Renowned institutions such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Academy of Sciences as well a plethora of science and teaching journals have cited SPARK’s physical education curriculum, and the HSC Foundation has even named SPARK as the only program it recommends for both PE and physical activity.

And that’s what this is all about. SPARK has the difference between physical education and physical activity down to a science—literally.

School districts with struggling attendance, lagging productivity and underwhelming test scores must look at the research. Recess is not enough.

Many of these schools are under federal and state government mandates to perform well in math, science and reading. If they don’t, teachers could see pink slips and students could be subjected to a longer school day or year.

However, the government also provides help.

The Department of Health and Human Services is an excellent source of funding for a school to institute a physical education program that is proven to be effective in raising academic performance.

More educated movement, better test scores.

And it’s not just the test scores that will improve. The health and well-being of the students, their abilities, their outlook, their potential — all of it will improve.

Aren’t our children worth it?

Fun 5 provided participating after school environments with SPARK curriculum, youth leader training, follow up support, and content-matched equipment.  A Train the Trainer model was included to foster sustainability and institutionalization of SPARK concepts and methods.

“It’s has been great to be part of the Fun 5 team since its inception in 2003,” reflected Claudio. “We are privileged to have so many wonderful SPARK trainers in our islands, some of them with the program for almost a decade.”

Paula added, “working together with different partners makes Fun 5 a really community project. Fun 5 exists thanks to those organizations making the everyday life implementation of the program a success.”

Claudio, Paula and their colleagues published a paper recently on their work (click here to see a pdf) Here are a few highlights from it:

Lessons Learned:

1. Engaging, participatory and fun trainings – Gotta have em’!
2. Make life easier for the staff – Don’t make them work more, but figure out how they can have more fun while they’re working
3. Cultivate relationships – Find champions within partner organizations – and recognize them!
4. Build local capacity – Home grown pride and ownership of the process — and outcomes
5. Early champions – Strive to recruit key players and contributors early on and others will follow
6. Effective program – Choosing SPARK provided credibilty and helped garner support

Selected Outcomes from Fun 5 Include:

• Exceeded dissemination expectations, demonstrating high quality annually despite large increases in reach
• Decreased youth time standing, sitting, and lying down by 21%
• Increased youth time in MVPA – 140% over the 4 years!

SPARK wants to acknowledge the great efforts made by Claudio, Paula, and all the Fun 5 trainers and implementers throughout the islands!  Also, special appreciation goes to the following organizations for helping make Fun 5 an effective and efficacious project:

• HMSA (Hawaii Medical Services Association www.hmsa.com
• Kaho’omiki www.kahoomiki.org
• Hawaii Department of Education
• YMCA
• Kamaaina Kids
• Dream Co.
• YCS
• University of Hawaii
• Kapiolani Community College
• Maui Nutrition and Physical Activity Coalition
• The National Afterschool Alliance
• Hawaii 5210 Let’s go!

Survey Your Space

No place is too small for a garden; you can even grow food in containers. You also need to consider the conditions. Some plants prefer a mix of sun and shade, while others require several hours of sunlight. Examine your soil–if it contains a lot of clay you will want to open it up and neutralize the pH. Your local garden or home store employees will know what products are best for your particular conditions.

Work out your water source. For a small garden a watering can is fine, but if you are planting some serious acreage you will need a hose and ideally an underground drip line system (this is also a good way to keep slugs and snails out because they are attracted to the surface water).

Choose Your Plants

Spring is a good time to plant herbs, which are easy to grow anywhere. Strawberries and blueberries are delicious super foods that you can grow in your own back yard as well. Tomatoes should go in the ground now, but don’t expect to enjoy that harvest until late summer. Peas are a great garden addition─you can eat them right off the vine in late spring and early summer or throw them into a salad. Kids love planting and eating them, too.

If this is your first time gardening, you may want to buy young plants instead of seeds. If you choose seeds, germinate them in a wet paper towel, put the sprouted seeds in some potting soil in small containers (yogurt cups with a hole punched in the bottom for drainage or a cardboard egg box) and keep them in a sunny area indoors until you see sturdy little seedlings.

Collect Your Tools and Supplies

These include fertilizer, garden soil (unless you’re fortunate enough to have lush, loamy dirt already) a shovel, a few trowels, work gloves, pest repellant, and possibly some lumber if you’re building a fence or raised bed. Some communities offer free compost or garden mulch to residents—check your city’s website and go early to pick it up.

You can also keep away pests without toxic chemicals. Neem oil mixed with detergent is a safe and effective bug killer. Mix crushed eggshells into the soil around your plants to deter snails and slugs. Marigolds not only attract bees and butterflies to your plants but they keep away pests, too.

Break Some Ground

If you are planting in an untouched space, you are going to need a good supply of elbow grease to prepare the soil. Strong teenagers are great for this, but anyone can do it. Even toddlers can help pick rocks out or pull weeds. Take it in stages and start early. Water the soil before you start, or do your digging after light rain. Pull all weeds out completely. If you leave the roots or just plow the weeds under, they’ll come back to compete with your chosen plants, and they will most definitely win. When your soil is soft, crumbly, and free of debris, you can add in garden soil, fertilizer, or any soil conditioners. Dig, turn, and turn again. The hard work really does pay off later.

Plant a Seed (or a Seedling)

Here’s another activity in which all members of the family can join in. Small children do better with large seeds, such as the aforementioned peas, or nursery plants, which have their roots protected in a ball. Homegrown seedlings can be very delicate, so save those for older fingers. Dig a hole, put the plant or seed in, cover loosely, water daily as needed, and pull any weeds. Then watch them grow!

Gardening has a learning curve and sometimes a green thumb must be grown through experience, so don’t be discouraged if not everything bears fruit, or even comes up. Your next garden endeavor will be that much easier. Enjoy your harvest and your new garden expertise. You are now a pioneer.

Take a Winding Walk

No matter where you live in the United States, you’re likely within a few hours of a historically or culturally important site. Find a trail: the Pacific Crest stretches along the entire West Coast, the Appalachian runs from Georgia to Maine, and there is any number of other great walks in between. Our nation was built on people pulling up stakes and heading somewhere else, for better or worse. You can tailor your trip to fit your family, from a gentle two-mile loop to a week-long trek in the backcountry. It’s a time to review history, exercise in the fresh air, and most of, all it’s time to be out together with no electronic distractions or hectic schedules. Pack your shoes, some healthy snacks, and a good map; and get ready to have a great time.

Make Some Waves

Whether your closest shoreline is an idyllic stretch of beach, a jumble of rocks, or even a small, lazy river, grab your kids and spend the day splashing around. If you’ve never kayaked, now’s a great time to rent some gear and see what all the fuss is about. Bring the bikes and find a new scenic route. You can even stop to try bouldering—that’s what kids these days call climbing on rocks. Are you looking for something a little more relaxing? Visit a wildlife sanctuary. Depending on where you go, you can watch magnificent shorebirds, seals and sea lions, alligators and snakes, butterflies, or otters and beavers play in their natural environment. Learn about habitats and the importance of protection. It may inspire you to find ways to help preserve these precious spaces and their animal residents.

Play in the Sand

Maybe you’re nearer to a desert than a beach, in which case you have an excellent opportunity to learn about geology and local flora. Desert hiking and camping can open up a whole new world, especially in early spring during the very short blooming season. See who can take the best photos of desert flowers or find the most interesting rock. If you’ve got caves within driving distance, try going underground. Learn the difference between a syncline and an anticline, and then try to find one. Keep in mind that the desert gets very cold at night this time of year, so if you’re camping, come prepared with warm sleeping bags and blankets.

Get Lost

Take some time to put away your GPS. Get involved with an orienteering group and learn to find your way around with a map, a compass, and your own observational skills. This is an excellent confidence builder for middle school aged kids and early teens. If you can’t find a group, make your own with a few other families.

Urban Adventure

Sure, all these ideas sound great; but what if you live in the city and you don’t have time for a long nature outing? No problem! Map out a hike from one public place to another with as many interesting stops as you can fit in along the way. Again, find a historically significant site (or three), learn about it, and then go there to check it out. Take a break for some Frisbee in the park. If your local park has fitness stations (obstacle courses, inclines for sit-ups, and so on) hit them all and see who is in the best shape. If it’s been a long time—or even a lifetime—since you’ve played tennis or basketball, find a court and play! Teach the kids, or let them teach you something new.

Whatever you do, make sure there’s something in it for every family member (even parents). Exercise and togetherness are the goals, but don’t wear yourselves out, or the return trip will be rough. Come back tired but still wanting more. It’s always good to have a plan, but be flexible and open to whatever nature brings. When you go back to the grind of work and school, you’ll have a new appreciation for springtime and some great ideas for weekend adventures that will hold you over until summer vacation.

–

photo courtesy of retired60

There will be no new PEP competition this year. Instead, the program will make new awards by funding down the slate of 2011 applicants. Therefore, no new or revised applications for PEP grants will be accepted in 2012. Applicants that did not win in 2011 may have the opportunity to receive an award in 2012, depending on the score from last year’s competition. Awards will be announced by 9/30/2012.

This information was received via email from the PEP Program Manager, Carlette Huntley.

Information for PEP Grant Applicants/Winners:

1. New: Resource Guide for PEP Applicants/Winners Click Here
2. SPARK alignment with national & state standards Click Here
3. PECAT Reports for SPARK K-8 PE  Click Here
4. HECAT Reports for our Health & Nutrition Partners (Healthy Lifestyle Choices and Healthy Kids Challenge) Click Here
5. Denver Public Schools PEP Grant success story Click Here
6. SPARK Assessment Tools Click Here

Spending time together as a family and getting everyone out of the house is a high priority for maintaining family health. And spending more time with kids helps them make better decisions and be less likely to get into trouble.

Walking or Running

Simply going for a walk is the easiest way to incorporate exercise into your day. Choosing a nice scenic route can make a walk more enjoyable, but oftentimes heading straight from the house can give you less of an excuse to postpone. Parks can also incorporate more than one activity. Parents can go for a walk while children enjoy field games or just run around.

If you are feeling really ambitious, try signing up the family for a 5k run or walk and give yourselves a goal to work up to. Setting a plan and reaching the finish line is a great way to bond together as a family and reach a successful goal.

Ride a bike

Bike riding is another family favorite. Biking trails can make a fun and safe ride for children of all ages. And having a personal bike to take care of and enjoy can make each family more inclined to stick with it.

Pick up a sport

Family leagues are picking up speed, and there are many ways to get involved in outside sports. Even a family game of tag or kickball can bring fast fun to the outdoors. Plan a Saturday game of tag or join a week night sports team to help you stick with a regimen. These types of group sports help your family build confidence, learn cooperation, and get exercise in an enjoyable way.

Yoga, Martial Arts, Dance Classes, and Swimming Lessons

All three of these activities can be enjoyed regardless of the season, and can be a fun way to bring challenge to your exercise. Scheduled classes are also harder to miss, and allow family members to meet new people and work toward a goal. Classes can also lend reasons to practice at home, making it easier to bring exercise back into everyday life.

Bowling, Tennis, Basketball, or Volleyball

Bowling is a great sport for the whole family. Fun and exciting, bowling is almost like exercising without even realizing it. Join a league to keep your family dedicated, or plan a bowling night every week to help your family look forward to a fun exercise outlet.

Sports played on the court are open to all ages, and can help your loved ones get into the game. With multiple courts available at gyms and all-ages teams cropping up all the time, there’s no reason to keep the family cooped up in the house every week. Sign up for a gym membership or get involved in local clubs to help each member remain accountable for their exercise regimen.

If it seems like there’s just not enough time in the day to exercise, try keeping an activity journal. There’s a good chance that each family member has more downtime than you think, and those times can be rearranged to make more space for family exercise.

With all the virtual workout games on the market, chances are you are already set to provide the family with an entire home workout theater. Get the kids up for a dance party or play activity games on your gaming console. There is a whole new world out there made up of virtual exercise that incorporates games, weight loss regimens, and fun challenges for the whole family.

However you choose to get your family involved in exercise, the highest priority is sticking with it. Keep a calendar or set dates in advance to make sure that there can be no last-minute excuses. Families that exercise together can reap the benefits of a healthier lifestyle, a closer relationship, and a higher level of confidence.