3 Fitness Activities for Families
by Samantha Coogan, MS, RDN, LD
Fitness Jenga
You’ll need:
• Jenga game set
• Sharpie marker
How to Play:
• Write a different body weight, movement or activity on the side of each Jenga piece with desired reps (you can repeat movements) – you can do squats, dancing, anything that’ll get you moving.
• Stack the Jenga pieces as you normally would.
• Play as usual, but every time a player successfully pulls a piece and places it on top of the stack, the player that pulled that piece must perform that movement/activity.
• You can also choose to have the player pull the piece, perform the movement, then place the piece on top.
Life-Size Hungry, Hungry Hippos
You’ll need:
• Ball-pit balls or foam dodge balls
• Square scooters (like the one you’d use in gym class)
• Laundry baskets (get these from the dollar store)
How to Play:
• The balls should be spread out in the middle
• Person 1 should lay on his/her stomach on the scooter, while Person 2 grabs onto the legs.
• Person 1 should be holding the laundry basket with the opening facing the ground.
• When it’s time to go, Person 2 should push Person 1 (gently) into the center, as Person 1 traps balls in the basket by connecting the basket with the ground.
• Person 2 will then pull Person 1 back and collect the balls from that “capture.”
• Continue this until time is called.
• This is usually best down with 4 “hippos” with 1 minute rounds.
Balloon Tennis
You’ll need:
• Balloons (blown up by mouth)
• Fly swatters
• A net or divider to divide up the court – you can even use a string!
How to Play:
• With one balloon, you’ll serve as you would in tennis.
• You’re allowed 3 hits per side before it must go over the net (think volleyball meets tennis).
• This can easily be played inside or outside and would work best with 2-4 people per team.
