The Game Plan: Everyone In The Park On Your Feet

The Game Plan: Everyone In The Park On Their Feet

Hundreds of thousands of parents across the country have begun their new routine with their school age children: BaCk To ScHoOl AnD ThE CoLd NiGhT PrAcTiCe FiElD. Our flushed cheeked children are obediently, after a full day at school and or daycare, playing sports to improve their social skills, get badly needed exercise, and a nice well rounded school resume. Why are we, the parents, sitting on the frosty sidelines wrapped in our blankets, sipping on hot chocolate, alienating ourselves from involvement and promoting couch potato-ism? Shouldn’t we be sending a different message?

We are our child’s primary social life coach, most influential health and fitness role model, and essential educational leader! It’s time we get off the sidelines, ditch our blankets and beach chairs and substitute them with a leader’s outlook, tennis shoes and our own exercise activities that will get us moving to get healthier, stronger socially and life balanced too!
Here are some simple ideas to get us moving instantly!

- Work in a 30 minute strength training workout and/or Zumba class at least 3 times a week at our nearest gym while the children are at practice. Set up a simple schedule with our spouse and/or other parents so that all can have an equal opportunity for some personal de-stress and workout time.


- If we need to stay at the park or nearby:
- Ride a bike or jump rope;
- Volunteer to work in the snack shack;
- Organize an aerobic class right on the lawn;
- Partner with someone to jog with;
- Take laps around the park and wear a pedometer to track
steps and set goals for increasing them each week;
- Play basketball;
- Use empty bleachers for a challenging climb;
- Be an active coach for a team;
- Play catch with a toddler prepping for T-Ball;
- Walk our dogs or borrow someone else’s;
- -Push the baby’s stroller (encourage the toddler
to walk when possible);
- Join an online weight management program like Curves Complete.com. to help stay motivated and assist with easy meal planning and exercise all designed to keep us healthy and fit.

In the beginning exerting energy after a full day of work could seem too much to bear. But as our own children have proven we will build endurance, boost our energy levels, improve our confidence, obtain more will power and increase our metabolism.

The more we are physically and interactively involved in our children’s lives the stronger the health of the family unit. We not only owe it to our children to support their education, extracurricular activities and overall well-being, we owe it to ourselves to keep fit for a long personal healthy life.

Be an MVP and help implement an unbeatable game plan: EvErYoNe In ThE PaRk On YoUr FeeT!