Strength Training Party

Posted on April 11th, 2009.

Normally, I try to get my workouts done in the wee hours of the morning, before my clients start coming to train around 6:00 am. Occasionally that doesn’t happen though, and I just have to do my best to squeeze in some exercise, wherever I can.  

 

Well that was exactly the case last night. I had been going non-stop since 5:30 am, but by 7:00 pm, I still hadn’t done much in the way of exercising. Since we didn’t have any exciting plans for our Friday night… and since the kids were settling down to watch a movie, I decided to throw on my gym clothes and get in a quick workout.   

 

When my husband saw that I was heading downstairs to workout, he thought that was a good idea and said he’d join me in a few minutes. Then, my six year old daughter, (who was snuggled up on the couch with her blankie), came down soon after, sporting her own little “grown-up” pair of gym clothes! {On a side note – Target sells the most adorable workout clothes for little girls these days! They are seriously irresistible!} Shortly thereafter, my nine year old son had given up on the movie he was watching and came down to join us as well. What began as a solo workout in my home gym, turned into a family affair that everyone was involved in. It was so fun!  

 

Of course, the kids turned the music up louder, started moving equipment around, and began lifting dumbbells to show me their “huge” muscles! My Friday night workout, was now an official Family Strength Training Party! The next thing I knew, my little girl was whipping out twenty pushups on the bosu ball! The best part about it, is that her form was absolutely awesome! It looked almost funny to have this little tiny girl, doing such a grown up thing! We were getting such a kick out of watching her, that my husband grabbed the camera and started taking pictures. Of course, that got the kids even MORE excited, and they started doing all sorts of exercises to “impress and delight” us.   

 

 

I couldn’t help but feel thrilled about the fact that our kids have a positive view of exercise and don’t think of it as drudgery. It is something that is just completely normal to them, because from the time they were babies, they saw it as part of our daily routine. It got me thinking about how important it is that kids don’t hear their parents complain and whine about exercising or eating right, because that will just influence them to think the same thing! Our kids are extremely impressionable… and if we give them the idea that exercise is an awful, treacherous thing we put off doing… because we absolutely don’t want to work hard and put forth the effort, they will {most likely} grow up feeling the same way about exercise that you do!  

 

A few days ago, I was flipping through the channels and saw a portion of a Dr. Phil episode where they were discussing a 10 year old girl, who weighed approximately 180 pounds! I felt so sad for this young girl, who didn’t seem to have the proper guidance and example, when it came to living a healthy life. I can’t even imagine the difficult struggles she faces, and will continue to face as she deals with this unfortunate condition. It was a helpful reminder to me about the duty it is for US, as parents to instill a love of health and nutrition in our kids! Just something as simple as our ATTITUDE toward exercise will impact them greatly throughout their lives!   

 

Obviously, one of the greatest ways to teach kids how to love and appreciate exercise, is to make it fun for them! {Just like you can make eating fruits and veggies fun!} Here’s a picture my husband snapped of my daughter and me as we were having a “plank-party contest” to see who could hold a plank {an amazing core exercise by the way} the longest! It was super fun for us! As we were nearing 50 seconds, my daughter was cheerfully yelling, “you can do it mom! don’t give up now!” – while I was cheering her on in the very same way!  

 

By the time my husband and I were done with our workout, we were all having such a great time enjoying each others company, {and doing something worthwhile and healthy}, that we didn’t really want our workout time to be over. My daughter continued dancing and doing gymnastics all over the room, while I stretched… and then stretched a little longer, while my son continued taking pictures and my husband finished watching the Jazz game. It definitely wasn’t a typical Friday night at our house… but it sure was an entertaining and productive way to spend the evening. Not only did we do something healthy for our bodies… we did something healthy for our relationships as well!   

 

So if you have kids… a spouse… a friend… or even a neighbor you want to get to know better… invite them to get out and EXERCISE with you! It doesn’t even have to be formal, like a strength training routine! Even just a simple walk around the neighborhood will suffice! You’ll feel better because you are taking care of your health and you’ll feel happy because you have strengthened a relationship! Make exercising a party! If you do, you’ll never whine and complain about that essential task again! 

 

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