My dream is to inspire droves of parents to start working out while their kids are at practice. This notion that you need to watch your kids practice the entire time after the age of 5 is nonsense.
“Did you see that goal I scored!?” No buddy I was in the middle of a set of burpees. Tell me about it in great detail, how did it start, why did you pass there, what did that feel like scoring a goal? What did you learn from that?
Years ago there was a study mentioned on the Ben Greenfield Fitness podcast that totally changed how I looked at raising fit kids. The University of Essex study showed a high correlation between children’s fitness, and their perceived fitness of their parents. Here’s the original article – http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/exercise/how-to-get-your-kids-fit
What does that mean?
‘If my parents are fit and workout, then I should be fit too.’!
The best thing you can be is a shining example to your kids of how to eat health and stay in shape. They should be involved in your workouts, and you should be involved in theirs. Kids don’t listen, but they do imitate.
Make sure your kids know that you workout.
One of the issues that came up in the study was that the kids didn’t realize their parents workout. Do your kids know you’re going to the gym? Do they see you going out for and coming back from a run? Have you challenged your kids recently to do 20 burpees, or see how can hold a squat or a wall sit the longest lately? Make it blatantly apparent to your kids that you still play and workout. Discuss with them what you did, and most importantly how, even when there were parts you didn’t like, you kept going!
Better yet, play with your kids, no really play. Stop the madness that when we grow up we’re too old to play. This is why most parents think working out is miserable, because it went from ‘play’ to going to the gym and going on an elliptical for 45 minutes… UGH!
When is the last time you jumped? Or moved like a kid would move?
Really think about that…. When is the last time you jumped in the air for a ball, to grab a tree limb, catch a frisbee? What about shot a basketball or kicked a soccer ball like you were 12? Do you think you’re too old for that? Doesn’t that sound ridiculous? Instead of getting a boring workout, or just running a race, grab the kids and go play something. What sport did you play growing up? Soccer? With or without the kids, grab a ball, and some cones and do some ball work, kick a ball up and down the field until you’ve gotten a great workout. Basketball? Shoot layups and make sure you grab any rebounds and finish with a basket. Baseball/Softball? Find a wall and throw yourself grounders.
Better yet, have your kids teach you what they are learning. What kind of soccer or basketball drills are they working on? Let them teach you the moves, it will be a great bonding experience, and will help them relearn what they are doing!
The question that is most likely popping into your head right now is what if someone sees me? How embarrassing! Seriously? Seriously? Who cares, if someone makes a comment ask them if we’re in 5th grade again and get back to playing.
Practice while your kids practice.
The excuse of the generation is that there’s no time. But I regularly see parents wasting an hour or more while their kids are at practice!
The other day, while my two oldest boys had soccer practice for 1:30, in an indoor fitness facility, I was able to get an insane workout about 50 feet from my kids, while keeping tabs on them the whole time. Even saw them score the goal they asked about afterwards!
Yes, you’ll get some looks as the other parents glance up from their phones, but deep I’m guessing deep down those parents are jealous.
For the better part of 45 minutes I worked out, no plan going into it at all, just doing whatever seemed fun with what was there. Pushups, squats, burpees, jumping jacks, sprints you can do these virtually anywhere.
Act the age you want to feel
In the soccer complex there is a steep indoor carpeted ramp that goes up about 20 feet, it’s steep enough to sprint up and down several times and be completely gassed. If you were to find cinder blocks laying around and carry them up and down you’d be exhausted as well…
Naturally the small kids who were there while their siblings were practicing came over and started running up and down the ramp, playing and having fun. Eventually some parents came over and started going up and down with the smaller kids to get them to do it. But it was that reserved, ‘I’m a parent, this is silly, just here to help you go up and down, type run’
At what point did most adults stop moving like kids? It’s odd to see a 35 or 50 year old moving with the freedom that a child can. Is it because they can’t? No, it’s most likely because they don’t, it’s foreign to them. Is that you??
STOP! Let yourself have fun! Seriously, even if you’re out of shape, running up a steep indoor hill, or on the field next to your kids’ practice is fun! Have a younger sibling with you, get them involved! Don’t let your 4-year-old beat you, they shouldn’t be able to. Run up and down until they want to stop, then do a few more while they are winded standing at the top! Throw one or two of them over your shoulders and run up a hill, or 50 yards and let them run down/back!
Or better yet, keep going until you want to stop.. tell them you ‘really want to stop, but you’re going to keep going anyway.’
What message do you think that is sending to your kids?
Maybe that’s why kids don’t want to grow up- because we’re making growing up look boring! Live so that kids say I can’t wait until I’m older so I can do fun stuff like you dad/mom!
Many of us endure great discomfort on a daily basis in work and life, we push through to get the job done. Show your kids how to do this through fitness, show them that you do this on a daily basis. It’s hard to explain the rigors of daily life to a child, but fitness is one thing that everyone can relate to.
Show them that they are stronger then they think they are, and can go further than they think they can.
Maybe, just maybe, you’ll remember that that is true for you too.
Do any of you actively workout while your kids are practicing? Have you tried any of the above and noticed a difference?
Workout ideas- (I’m not a trainer/doctor, this is just the advice I’d give my mom if she asked..)
First thing in the AM-
- Do something with your kids- even if it’s 5 or 10 minutes of jumping jacks, pushups or squats. It’s great to start the day with some movement, and is an opportunity to talk about goals and objectives for the day.
At Practice-
- Run a certain distance at the field say 10-minute run and try to run it faster next time.
- Run a lap, do 5 burpees/squats/pushups ect. And repeat until exhausted.
- Pushups, sit-ups, squats, or even bring a kettle bell or small weights. Put 20 minutes on the clock and keep moving the whole time. It does not need to be as sophisticated as we make it out to be!
I’m enjoying reading your thoughts and dreams for you and your family… your advice is so critical now… when kids are growing up glued to their devices…. on social media sites that don’t really teach them to be social at all… childhood obesity is a real issue for their health… I completely agree that our kids need to see us live the example… set the bar… to think of fitness and working out, not as something we HAVE TO DO, but rather someone we decide to be… Of course, this approach requires us to find an activity that we really enjoy… or it will feel like a chore… the more integrated we can make fitness a natural component of our lives, and theirs, the better. I also agree that we need to give ourselves permission to have fun… and show our kids that it’s important to embrace physical and mental happiness, celebrate the little things… so we are physically and mentally prepared to manage when things don’t go so right. Keep writing… I’ll be watching.
You’re awesome Gary- Thanks! You’re one of the guys I look up to as well, love that you and Bob are still getting out there regularly and there’s no slow down in sight!
Hey Ryan… thanks for the kind words… the mindset and lifestyle you’re prescribing in this blog is exactly what, I believe, creates the perspective I’ve always tried to live by… my brothers and I started doing long distance bike rides when I was in high school… let’s just say… before you were born… growing up in NE Philly, our bikes were our primary means of transportation… riding was an integral part of our plans and routines… the way we typically got around to friend’s houses, to parks to play ball and stores to spend our weekly allowance (there were no malls or food courts then).
The first 3 long distance rides my brother and I did were called the “Philadelphia to Cape May 200”, the first being in 1972. We did those rides on a Schwinn Continental (gold in color) that weighed a whole lot more than the bike I ride today. We really didn’t get all the fuss about doing a double century in a weekend… what did we know… we were in high school. Now that I have 34 MS-150’s behind me… I get it.
As you describe… being active, and as a result pretty fit… was just part of what we did all the time… there were no gym memberships back then… stop laughing… some of us had some small weight benches in our basement… but mostly, we were just outside all the time.
As a result, I’ve rarely thought about my age or the idea of “slowing down”… I still enjoy riding as much now as I did when I was in high school. I solve a lot of life problems when I’m on my bike… it’s one of the cherished constants in my life that I always turn to when things get confusing… I think the attitude you’re promoting is exactly what I think produces, in the short and long run, a healthier and happier community of people.
Working out and staying fit, whatever the flavor of activity… just becomes what you do… almost without thinking about it… just as way too many kids these days, in my opinion come home, drop down in front of the their computers and monitors and burn hours on video games, facebook and other social sites. It’s just what they’ve grown accustomed to doing… without really thinking about it… not that there’s anything wrong with any of those things in moderation.
And just an interesting comparison, as my final thought for today… I’ve developed a wonderful group of friends at work, and another wonderful group of friends in cycling. A number of my friends from work have led very sedentary life styles and are now at or nearing retirement… these friends are often talking about the high cost of their multiple medications and how to manage those costs as part of their budget. Alternatively, my cycling friends are often talking about the registration costs for upcoming events or the cost of the new bike computer, radar detector or set of wheels they’re looking at. Medications rarely come into the conversation…
The lifestyle decisions you’re describing in this blog lay the foundation for what you and your peers will be talking about down the road… just be patient with yourselves… there have been many times when life, kids, family events, work and other things sent my “perfect plan for fitness” to the back burner for awhile… but the gravitational pull of our life strategy will always bring you back to center…