10 Ways to Keep Fit with Kids

P.E. with Joe is the perfect way to kick off the day with your children. Streamed live on YouTube every day at 9am, Joe’s free workout is suitable for children (age 4+) and adults alike.

Simple, well-structured and fun, Joe’s 30 minute sessions are already proving a huge success with families all over the world. We highly recommend giving them a go!

Why not introduce your kids to workouts you love and let them join in? (If you’re a fan of Davina, she’s currently offering a free 30 day trial.)

To cater for short attention spans, we suggest making up your own warm up. Then you can fast forward through the boring introduction and skip straight to the fun stuff!

If it’s a long workout, get your kids to join in for ten minutes at a time or just for your favourite moves. Set up some snacks as a reward once they have completed their fitness challenge.

With all this time indoors, it’s time to get creative with the resources you have to hand. A simple way to get moving with your kids is to create a home assault course.

Use everyday household objects to create stations around the house. Each station should be a physical challenge. Try creating a mountain of pillows to climb. Make a limbo station out of a broom. Or use sheets to make a tunnel to crawl under.

Time your kids as they run from station to station, completing each challenge. And then get them to time you. Keep track of everyone’s times on a sheet and try to beat your personal bests!

Being cooped up at home can increase anxiety and stress levels for the whole family. Practising yoga and mindfulness is a positive way to remedy this.

To restore zen in your household, introduce your kids to yoga with Cosmic Kids Yoga. Colourful and engaging, these videos will show children new ways to move their body’s and calm their minds.

While your little ones are absorbed in one of the videos, you could set up your mat next to them and do some yoga of your own. We love Yoga with Adriene. Her videos are accessible, chilled and nurturing.

If you have a hula hoop hiding in the cupboard, now’s the time to get it out. Hula hooping is a great way to get kids to build their core strength and coordination.

Turn on some tunes and challenge your children to keep the hula hoop spinning until the music stops. Hula hooping is a great workout for adults too. If you have a weighted hoop, join in with your kids to work your core while you keep them entertained.

Here are some hula hoop challenges and tricks to take your family’s hula hoop game to the next level.

Skipping is an excellent form of cardiovascular exercise that kids love. Make sure you clear enough space for this one, as fast moving ropes can easily knock things over.

Once your kids have mastered the basics, teach them new moves. For example, jumping from foot to foot. Or crossing the rope over as they jump. See how fast they can go or for how long. To get them inspired, show them this video of the world’s fastest rope jumping boy!

How can you get the whole family moving around the whole house quickly? Hidden treasure, that’s how! Turn your house into a treasure hunt to get everyone moving and keep them entertained.

Create a set of clues that can be solved to reveal the location of a prize. To get each clue, the kids have to complete a challenge. For example, ten sit ups, five press ups or twenty jumping jacks.

Once they’ve earned the clue, it’s your turn to take over the challenge. Start your sit ups, press ups or jumping jacks. Keep going until the kids have solved the clue and found the prize! Add a medicine ball or hand weights into the mix to get a better workout.

Learning new dance routines at home is a fun and creative way to keep active with your kids. Oti Mabuse, of Strictly Come Dancing fame, is offering free online dance classes for children.

Streamed live at 11.30am each day, Oti’s classes are themed around children’s films. A smart way to break up the morning’s school tasks, these jazzy 30 min videos are likely to prove a hit.

If you’re lucky enough to have a garden, gardening is a great way to keep active. Take advantage of the chance to get some fresh air and teach your children about the garden.

Show your kids how to plant seeds, dig holes and get rid of weeds. Get them collecting leaves to draw or take rubbings from. Shout out different plants around the garden and the first to run to that plant wins.

Gardener’s Path suggests some great kids’ gardening activities if you’re stuck for ideas.

There’s nothing more fun than a spot of clowning around! Try making up your own circus routine as a family.

Start with a handstand challenge. Then attempt a human pyramid (if you dare!). Next, show off your strength by bench pressing your kids. Or give them a piggyback up the stairs.

If you have any circus toys, like juggling balls or a diablo, get them out! Show off your best circus skills. And once you’ve perfected your routine, why not perform it for your friends on a video call? These are unusual times, so no one will judge you (much!). Making people laugh is a powerful way to stay connected.