working out as a family {tips & ideas}

April 9, 2020

One of the things we miss the most as a family right now is our Crossfit community. However, this season has allowed us to do something new – workout as a family every morning. At Crossfit, we are typically divided into the adult classes and the kids class. I am also the only one that usually heads to Crossfit every day, the rest of my crew falls in the 2-3x a week category.

Now that we are all home in the morning and our schedule is a lot more relaxed, the kids have been joining me almost each day for a workout. We usually do the workout our Crossfit posts, one I make up, or one I share over on Instagram…and sometimes a combo.

I’ve been sharing family friendly workout ideas on instagram M-F. Each workout is one that can be done without any equipment and without a lot of space.

I thought I’d share a few tips for how I make it go smoothly and keep my kids motivated and wanting to join me.

1. We decide the night before what time we are going to work out. Typically is is 7:30am, but sometimes a bit later. I’m still keeping my crew on a somewhat regular schedule – only sleeping in on the weekends. Everyone seems to handle life better around here with consistency and getting our bodies moving early. The key is we decide the night before – it isn’t up for debate if and and when we are going to work out in the morning. Decision is made. We go to bed. We get up.

2. I set things up before the kids join me. This means if we need anything (chairs, mats, etc.) I get it all set up and ready to go. I also write out the workout. Writing it out helps reduce the questions and confusion during the workout. I space out kids that get too competitive with each other and if the workout involves partners, I pick who will partner with who.

3. We use a playlist the kids like. My older boys created a playlist on Spotify. It is mainly clean hype music – like the stuff at a pep rally.

4. I remind the kids words are to be encouraging only. I have a rule that the only person they can critique is me. If I have bad form or they question my reps, they are free to comment…but only to me, not each other. On the flip side, I am the only one who can comment on their form or reps.

I focus a lot on form, being positive, and keeping moving. When my crew was younger, I tried to keep it fun…lots of fun. As they get older, we push ourselves more and it isn’t always fun. We learn to keep going and push through the pain together. That was not the focus when they were little.

I was recently asked if my kids like working out or if it is something I make them do. The truth is they all enjoy it, but I think a large part of that is a result of growing up exercising as a family. They like the family aspect of it and I they enjoy the getting physically stronger. We have some big adventures planned in the future as a family and part of working out together is preparation for the physical demands of some of those adventures. My kids know they are working hard for the benefits in the present, but also for the plans we have in the future.

We recently sat around the living room and each shared something we have liked about this season of social distancing and something that has been especially hard. Two of my kids listed working out as a family as the best part of this season. It has been one of the best parts to me