Getting started

• Schedule a regular time throughout the week for physical activity.
• Take turns selecting an activity for the family to do as a group each week.
• Start a log of daily fitness activities for each family member.
• Adapt all activities to suit those with special needs and preferences.
• Help everyone to find something active that makes them feel successful.

Tips for the home

• Designate indoor and outdoor play areas where rolling, climbing, jumping, and tumbling are allowed.
• Buy toys or equipment that promote physical activity.
• Select fitness-oriented gifts with the recipient's skills and interests in mind.
• Limit time spent watching television programs, videotapes, and playing computer games.
• Use physical activity rather than food as a reward (e.g. family goes in-line skating).
• Include grandparents, other relatives, and friends whenever possible.
• Emphasize the importance of having fun and learning; avoid a push "to win".
• Get off the couch and change the channel manually or better yet, turn it off!
• Spend as much time outdoors as possible.

Tips for the kitchen

• "Pack your own" nutritious snacks and meals for family outings.
• Keep fresh fruit and vegetables washed, cut-up, chilled and readily available for post-exercise snacking.
• Have attractive containers of water available during and after workouts.
• Take the family grocery shopping so everyone can learn to read the nutrition labels (find the cereal that offers the most fiber per serving; find the tastiest non-fat cheese). 

Tips for school

• Talk to the physical education teacher about your child's physical education program and how you can provide support.
• Encourage your school board to make physical education a priority.
• Volunteer to help with physical activity events at your child's school.
• Join a marching band for excellent exercise.
• Encourage your school physical education teacher to coordinate family evening and weekend activities in the gymnasium or in the school yard.  

Tips for work

• Stop every hour or two to walk and stretch.
• Devote a portion of your lunch break to physical activity (e.g., walking).
• Collect data on dollars spent and days of work lost due to illness related to overweight and/or sedentary lifestyles:
• diabetes
• hypertension
• cardiovascular disease
• stroke
• breast cancer
• and others
• Encourage your employer to install facilities and provide incentives to support physical activity.
• Walk to a co-worker's desk rather than using the intercom.
• Make plans with a co-worker to go to a gym or participate in a sport on a weekly basis. 

Tips for anywhere

• Pack a lunch for work if it's hard to find restaurants and delis that offer whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
• Always use the stairs.
• Carry items - such as book bags, groceries, and picnic baskets to build strength.
• Walk, jog, or skip instead of driving (to and from school, grocery store, library, park, etc.).
• Make chores YOUR chance to be active.
• Get off the bus a few stops early and walk.
• Park the car AS FAR AWAY from the entrance as possible.

Tips for the Great Outdoors...

• Discover what free and low-cost physical activity areas are near your home (park, bike trail, hiking trail, tennis court, swimming pool, etc.).
• Rake leaves...then jump in them!
• Shovel snow...build a snow sculpture; make snow angels; build a snow house.
• Dig and plant in the garden...help everyone plant their own vegetables, fruits and flowers.
• Chop and stack wood...end with a campfire and sing-a-long.
• Take a long walk or jog on the beach.
• Cross country ski around town and into the woods.
• Use a compass to map out a course - then set out on a walk, jog, or bike hike.
• Canoe or raft for an entire afternoon.
• Ice skate for a great winter workout.
• Skiing always gives the family a lift.
• Jump into water sports - enjoy water walking and aerobics.
• Play mixed-age water volleyball.
• Visit outdoor education centers.
• Take a nature hike.
• Go up, up and away with a kite flying day.
• Go to a driving range or enjoy a game of miniature golf.
• Go camping where you can pitch a tent, gather firewood, fish, bike, and walk.
• Visit farms throughout the year where you can pick your own strawberries, peaches, and apples.
• Plan cycling trips on safe trails by calling your local bike shop or bike club.

Tips to use in your own backyard...

• Run, jog, and walk in a family reasure hunt.
• Toss around as many different-shaped balls/objects as you can find.
• Juggle with the entire family.
• Play "Hit and Go" croquet - hit the ball and run to it - across the whole yard.
• Count hula hoop rotations.
• Jump rope - practice rhythms, rhymes and tricks.
• Play a "hot potato" game of Frisbee.
• Play an action-packed game of badminton...serve from where the birdie drops.
• Jump on Pogo stick and count bounces.
• Build stilts and walk on them to create laughter and exercise.
• Ride on a skate board (with knee, wrist and elbow pads and helmets).
• Play hopscotch and organize a family tournament.
• Run and dodge in a "Tag and You're It" game.
• Play traditional and modified backyard sports: basketball, softball, volleyball, and tetherball.
• Practice on in-line skates (with knee and elbow pads and helmets) - go further and get faster each day.
• Take the family pet for a walk or jog.
• Wash the car...enjoy an active game with the hose.

Tips for the neighborhood, community and beyond...

• Create your own Olympic events at a family reunion or neighborhood block party.
• Organize a family swim outing - be sure to swim with a buddy in supervised areas.
• Enjoy a weekend afternoon of physical activities at a local community center.
• Enter and walk in holiday parades, ethnic festivals, and charity fund raisers.
• Walk or bike to a nearby playground - challenge family members to try their skills swinging, crossing a horizontal ladder.
• Take a historical (or architectural) walk or cycling tour.
• Plan a "block fitness festival" including relay races.
• Adopt a highway, park, or beach, and keep it clean.
• Participate in a "volksmarch." It's German for a "people's walk," is social in nature, and usually  kilometers (. miles).
• Help organize mall walks - especially in bad weather.
• Help organize your building, development, or community to exercise on preset routes at preset times so you can keep each other company.
• Enter a "Fun Run" or a "Bike-a-Thon."
• Encourage local religious and civic organizations to allow halls to be used for indoor family activities.

Take advantage of facilities in your neighborhood...

• Join the Y or a health club.
• Organize a party at an indoor ice or roller skating rink.
• Bowl to your heart's content.
• Participate in a mixed-age martial arts class.

Music Makes It Easy!

• Create a family video of exercise routines.
• Invite friends and neighbors over for some country western line dancing.
• Invent a new dance and name it after your family.
• Host a dance fever contest.
• Share dances from each generation in your family.
• Throw an ethnic/multi-cultural dance party.

Take advantage of what you've got around the house

• Use a bench or steps for step-aerobic workout.
• Play "Twister" or other indoor active games.
• Encourage everyone to "act out" a story as you read it.
• Build an obstacle course in the basement or garage on a rainy day.

OR make up your own activities! Make a commitment to become a fit family.