I need help getting my teens moving. We have developed some terrible lazy habits. Covid lockdowns and a way too hot summer have given us excuses to stay inside. I cannot afford to enroll them in any sports or classes so I need to get creative. And did I mention they are teens and not really interested in bikes or scooters like they were just few short years ago. This was never a problem for us in the past, but somehow they grew out of active play in an instant. We go for neighborhood walks a few times a week but that is about it. We live in a big city so nature walks are a daytrip so don’t happen often enough. I need to come up with ways to make movement and exercise part of our inside routine. I am thinking of things like youtube videos (I think they sill balk at this), jumping jacks, squats, push ups, marching or jogging in place, stretching. Trying to remember high school PE! I would love some creative fun ideas.
Warm up stretches for about 10 minutes then jumping jacks, push-ups and/or planks, balance on one foot, airplanes (lie on belly, raise all limbs off ground in an airplane shape and hold. Drop back down and rest then do it again. Repeat several times), crunches, and weight lifting. Then walk or jog in place 15 minutes. If you have stairs, add a few trips up and down several times a day. Once they have gotten a little more in shape, the Jillian Michaels “30 Day Shred” is very good (but intense! Don’t jump into this without building strength first!) Or Jessica Smith has walking videos. By the end of the video, you’ll have walked several miles, but it’s not just walking. She includes flexibility and balance movements too.
We found a Christian exercise program we like called Action 4 Life on 3ABN. We stream it on Roku 3ABN channel at 2 pm central time zone, certain weekdays when it is on.
We also have some indoor equipment the children rotate through. I call them “stations”, and they set a timer for 5 min. at each station, and play higher tempo music with it. We use a personal indoor trampoline, a step, Teeter Popper balance board, and freestyle exercises (like jumping jacks pushups, jogging in place) to rotate through.
I personally have liked videos of Leslie Sansone’s Walk Away the Pounds.
Daily walks are good, too. Walking is the best exercise!
I would really recommend investing in a rebounder (mini tramp) and looking up some workout videos for it. 10 mins on a rebounder is equivalent to a 30-40 min run! Plus you can do it indoors or out, it’s easy on the joints, it helps flush the lymphatic system, it builds bone density, cardio health and so many more things.
I’d suggest you research the benefits of rebounder exercise and then get the best you can afford as not all are created equal (research this too)
The other forms of home exercise are pilates (fabulous as a Christian alternative to yoga), a few handweights, and resistance training (using those giant rubber bands) again lots of free instruction on youtube.
When my husband was a teen, he used the Royal Canadian Airforce Fitness Program and recommended that I use it with the kids. I did it a few years ago and they had so much fun. Then I joined my sister for a CrossFit session and she could NOT believe that I got through it the first time. I told her it was the kids PE class that had me in shape.
You can get a book that explains it and shows you the workout.