With cooler weather around the corner, I find myself spending much longer periods of time outdoors with my children. I love the cool brisk air, the swirling leaves and the smell of burning firewood. Fall is without a doubt my preferred season and I jump at every chance I have to spend this time outdoors with my family. I find that the cool air is energizing and refreshing, inspires me to get active and stay active.
I can see the change in my kids as well, suddenly they are jumping at the chance to go for a bike ride or a walk. On the weekends they spring out of bed asking to run around the yard in their pajamas. For parents that want to add more physical activity to their routine this is the perfect chance to get active. You don’t have to run a marathon to get fit, you can simply follow your children’s lead and have fun. These fall activities will have you feeling healthy and having fun with your family!
5 WAYS TO BE ACTIVE WITH YOUR FAMILY THIS FALL
1.) Go for a walk. Walking is one of the easiest ways to get exercise. Most people can do it any time and any where. Take your kids for a walk through your town or take your dog for a walk around your neighborhood. Walking burns approximately 238 calories per hour, which can really add up if you find time to walk a few days a week. I often walk with my kids to our town library, we talk about what types of books we want to find when we get there. On the walk home, we talk about which book we will read first and what book they think will be their favorite. Walking is a great way to relax and converse with your children.
2.) Go for a bike ride. My husband and I recently tuned up our old bikes and bought bike helmets so we can go biking with our children. When they were younger we would walk briskly beside them as we supervised their riding. Now that they can ride on their own, we all strap on our helmets and go riding around our town. We let them pick where they would like to go and we head off in the chosen direction. Going on a fun, leisurely bike ride with your kids can burn about 408 calories per hour. With such minimal effort it’s hard to consider it exercise.
3.) Go on a nature hike. Although there are not any mountains where we live for hiking, we can find a modest amount of hills. One of our favorite weekend activities is to go to one of our many local state parks. The change of scenery is always enjoyable as all kids love to explore. We hike through the parks covered in bug spray seeing what we can discover. Our kids have a wonderful time looking for feathers, rocks and wildflowers. A leisurely hike carrying a backpack (full of drinks and snacks) can burn 493 calories an hour!
4.) Play tag. I have never met a child that doesn’t love to play tag. It usually doesn’t matter who is chasing who, as long as you are having fun doing it! I play tag almost every evening before dinner with my kids. As dinner is finishing up in the oven or in the crockpot, we head outside for a little tag time. My son loves to play “prey vs predator” tag. My daughter and I will be the unsuspecting gazelles and he will be the stealthy cheetah chasing us around. It is a great way to burn off any end of the day energy. It also gets them nice and tired before our evening routine. If you run fast enough, you can burn 20 calories in a one minute sprint.
5.) Rake leaves. This is one of my very favorite outdoor activities to do with my kids. They have their own child size rakes so they we can all pitch in and make giant leaf piles. The repetitive movement of raking leaves is so enjoyable for me, I don’t even mind when the kids jump in the piles. In fact – I encourage it. I bury them as deep as I can and laugh as they emerge from the pile covered in leaves and dirt. Raking leaves will burn about 120 calories in 30 minutes, so get raking!
The more active you are, the more energy you will have. If you are looking to live a healthier lifestyle, consider adding Silk soy milk to your diet. You can learn all about Silk Protein Power here.
Have fun!
Daniele
Disclosure: This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.
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