I’ve been talking so much about changing habits lately, but I’ve neglected an area that comes with changing habits – the difficulty of family influence. I’ve found that it can be a big struggle to change your own ways if the rest of your family isn’t on board with it. Today, I thought I’d provide a few tips on getting your family involved in your health journey (specifically the fitness part).
Staying on track is much easier when you have a support system and others doing it with you. Below, I’ve listed five ways to get your family involved with your fitness journey.
1. Talk about it. I’ve found communication is really key when it comes to maintaining happy relationships. Talk to your spouse or kids about what your goals are and why you’re doing what you’re doing. (You might even find your husband asking you when you’re doing your workout after he hears about it daily.)
2. Plan family activities. There are so many active activities that can be done together that are also fun! Plan to go swimming, hiking, biking, etc. It doesn’t take much to get out and be active. Planning an activity in advance also prepares everyone and builds the excitement.
3. Do active things together regularly. This piggybacks off of number 2 a little, but can be done on a smaller scale. It might be as simple as taking a walk around the block every evening. Find an activity that fits your lifestyle and can become a routine and get others involved with you. We take an evening walk (when it’s not 100 degrees like the past few days) and I love that time because we get exercise and we also have good conversation.
4. Set goals and challenge each other. Do you both have a step counter? Challenge each other to a step competition. Sit down and set goals with each other and then hold each other accountable. Your goals might not match up for the week (his might be a run every evening while yours is a workout video every evening). Just because they don’t match up doesn’t mean you can’t be accountability partners! You could even get the kids involved with goals of their own!
5. Find a workout to do together. There are so many different ways to workout – some that cost little to no money. For example, there is a new Beachbody dance program out called Cize. From the videos I’ve seen, kids and adults alike are enjoying it. I have seen several family videos where the kids are working out right alongside their parents as they learn a new dance together. (For the price of one program, the entire family can benefit and have fun over and over again!)
There are so many ways to be active together. Don’t let your family or friends hold you back from pursuing your goals. Instead, try to get them involved – it benefits you and them in the end!
I am a Beachbody coach and happy to answer any questions you might have about the products or programs. I’m also more than happy to simply talk to you about your health and fitness goals to find solutions that work for you. Feel free to contact me at hodgepodgepam@gmail.com anytime for advice or information. (Make sure you include a title with your email so that it doesn’t look like spam!)
