Family Fitness

Fitness has so many meanings that we all can forget that there are different levels of fitness. Our athlete’s play sports for many reasons and one of them should be overall fitness. Social media, television and other forms of media are bombarding us with lifestyle recommendations and body imagery. It is our duty to teach our children to love themselves. After going to the Hawaii Fit Expo, I was thrilled to see the love of fitness and family at the event.

Fitness is defined as a set of attributes, primarily respiratory and cardiovascular, relating to ability to perform tasks requiring expenditure of energy. On the basic level, fitness is your ability to do daily activities without fatigue. Being ripped and lean is great and attainable for some people, but it isn’t the benchmark for beginner level of fitness. The beginner level is getting through your daily routine without being exhausted. As adults, we are exhausted for so many reasons every day, but for our kids it’s making sure they can do daily tasks without being overly worn out.

Hawaii is amazing because it gives us so many outdoor opportunities to work on your fitness. Walking, hiking, surfing, swimming and so much more count towards your athlete’s overall fitness. Spending beach days and exploring nature are great ways to have fun as a family as well as working on your overall fitness as a family as well. Finding ways to get all the generations together makes it more memorable and helps some of the uncles and aunties with their fitness at the same time.

When you guide your kids through their activities it builds a great bond with them and a love for fitness. Interacting with your athletes will help them love fitness. Counting their pushups or sit-ups counts. Doing exercises with them and sweating it out reenforces leading by example. Bringing all the kids together to train creates accountability amongst siblings. Sports like soccer and volleyball can be played with family members of all ages.

This summer take some time to have some family fitness events. Try to get everyone together to play a game of volleyball or soccer. Remind the older siblings to take the little ones to go train. Just a reminder your athlete’s and family can all work on their fitness together.