Family Fitness Workouts You Can Do Together
If you're looking to squeeze in exercise to your busy family life, or simply want to encourage your kids to have a healthy relationship with staying active, family workouts are a great way to keep the whole family fit and healthy.
While members need to be 16 or over to join PureGym, we believe that everybody should be able to enjoy a fit and healthy lifestyle. That's why we've asked Phil Burrows, a Personal Trainer at PureGym Warrington Central, to share some family workout routines that are safe and fun for the whole family.
As well as being a Personal Trainer, Phil is a secondary school teacher who helps to educate young people on the importance of staying active. He also works with GP referrals and has qualifications in pre- and post-natal exercise, and paediatric first aid, among many others!
Why work out as a family?
There are so many health benefits to keeping active, but when it comes specifically to family fitness workouts, one of the biggest benefits is that it makes workouts fun.Â
With 5 siblings, I have 8 people in my immediate family -- and that's not including nieces, nephews, and partners! Being around family, no matter how big or small, brings a good energy and makes any activity more fun.
When you combine this with the endorphins from exercising, you create a really positive experience for everyone involved. This can bring your family closer together and help your children to build a good relationship with exercise.
Safety considerations
When working out as a family, different members may have different fitness levels. Younger and older members may also be more prone to injury. Avoiding heavy resistance makes workouts more accessible for all ages, so all the following workouts are bodyweight only.
You can also regress the exercises if they're still too difficult:
Squats: these can be swapped for sit and stand from a chair
Press ups and planks: any exercise that involves being on your hands and feet like the press up can be done from your knees
Burpees and crawl outs: exercises which involve dropping to the floor and back up again can be done in distinct stages with the explosiveness removed. You can also use a chair or sofa to help the transition, or replace with a sit to stand
3 family workout routines
It's important to make sure your family workouts are fun as this will help to keep everyone happy and excited for future workouts. There are a few different ways to structure the workouts to keep them interesting, which I've shown below. You can alternate between these workouts or find a style that suits your family and switch up some exercises.
Whatever workout style you choose, remember to encourage all family members to do their best and have fun.
Isometric holds
This workout involves one family member doing an isometric hold while the other family members work through a set of exercises. Once everyone has completed the exercises, the whole family gets a 3-minute rest.
Repeat this so that every family member has a turn holding the isometric exercise. However big your family is, is how many rounds you'll have to do. Have a small family? Why not try doing it twice.
Isometric hold:
- Plank
Lie on the floor with your elbows underneath your shoulders and hands flat on the floor in front of you. Engage your core and raise your knees and hips off the floor. Your body should be in a straight line from your feet to your head. Keep your abs tight and look at the space between your hands to ensure a neutral spine position. Hold the position as long as you can.
Exercises to work through:
- Squats -- 10 reps
Stand tall with feet slightly wider than hip-width distance apart, feet turned out. Straightening your back and bracing your abs, sink your hips back and down towards the floor. As you do this movement, allow your elbows to drop between your legs, and inside your knees. Make sure that your knees don't go over your toes while doing this movement by keeping the weight in your heels. When your hips sink just below the knees, stay in this position for a brief pause, and then drive your hips back up to return to standing position.
Learn how to do squats and squat variations here.
- Crawl outs -- 10 reps
Start with your hands and feet on the floor, legs bent with your knees under your hips. Walk your hands forward until your body is in a straight line and hands are under your shoulders. Walk your hands back to starting position.
- Hand to foot taps -- 10 reps
Start off in a high plank position, hands under your shoulders, feet extended out behind you. Engage your core, then bring your left foot in towards your chest. At the same time, bring your right hand in to tap the foot (or knee if this is too hard). Return both to the floor and repeat on the other side.
- Press ups -- 10 reps
Start in a high plank with your hands stacked underneath your shoulders. Slowly lower your chest towards the floor whilst ensuring your abs are tight and your spine is in neutral position. Slowly push back up to the start position.
Competitive workout
This workout involves the whole family working together as a team. Write down the following exercises on a piece of paper:
- Squats
Stand tall with feet slightly wider than hip-width distance apart, feet turned out. Straightening your back and bracing your abs, sink your hips back and down towards the floor. As you do this movement, allow your elbows to drop between your legs, and inside your knees. Make sure that your knees don't go over your toes while doing this movement by keeping the weight in your heels. When your hips sink just below the knees, stay in this position for a brief pause, and then drive your hips back up to return to standing position.
- Press ups
Start in a high plank with your hands stacked underneath your shoulders. Slowly lower your chest towards the floor whilst ensuring your abs are tight and your spine is in neutral position. Slowly push back up to the start position.
- Lunge walks
Stand tall with feet about shoulder-width apart. You can rest your hands on your hips. Brace your core and take a big step forward with one leg and bend your front knee till your thigh is parallel with the floor. You back leg should be bent, with your shin parallel to the floor. Extend your front leg to come to standing. At the same time, take the back leg up and over into a forward lunge. Repeat for however many reps required.
See how to lunge here.
- Deck squats
Stand tall with your feet shoulder width apart. Bend your knees and lower your hips down into a deep squat. As your glutes touch the floor, lift your feet off the floor and roll backwards onto your shoulders so your lower back and legs are off the floor. Use the momentum to roll forward onto your feet, then push up to standing.
- Pronated flyes
Lie down on your front, head resting on the floor with your neck and torso relaxed. Extend your arms above your head and then slowly squeeze your shoulder blades together to drive your elbows to your sides. Pause before returning to the start.
- Walkouts
Stand up straight, facing forward. Bend down and place your hands on the floor in front of your feet. Walk your hands forward until your body is in a straight line and hands are under your shoulders. Walk your hands back to your feet and return to standing.
- Burpee thruster press
Stand tall with feet shoulder width apart. Brace your core and drop into a high plank position by placing your hands on the floor, shoulder distance apart, then kick your feet behind you. Try to keep your back straight and abs engaged. Allow your chest to drop to the floor lightly, keeping elbows tucked to either side of the body. Push your chest up and then jump your feet forwards, landing into a deep squat. Place your hands in front of your shoulders, then drive through your feet to standing and press your arms above your head.
See different burpee variations here.
- Sit and twist
Sit on the floor, feet in front of you, with your knees bent. If using weights, hold this in front of your chest. Lift your feet off the floor, making sure to keep them bent. Keeping a tall spine, lean your torso back so you're at a 45 degree angle from the floor, and 90 degrees from your thighs. Use your abs to twist your upper body to the left. Keep the weight/ your hands in front of your chest. Twist back to the centre, and then continue to the right. Turn back to the centre. This is one rep.
After each exercise, make a tally chart of however many rounds you want to do -- each round will consist of 10 reps.
Have everyone start the workout together and then write down the times it takes for everyone to complete all rounds. You can keep the times for future workouts to see how much everyone improves.
Team workout
This workout style involves everyone running through a full body workout in unison, with a rep only counting if all family members perform it as the same time. This is a great way to encourage the family to work together and encourage each other! Make sure to go at a pace that younger or older family members can manage, and consider timing it to watch how the family improves each workout.
- Squats -- 12 reps
Stand tall with feet slightly wider than hip-width distance apart, feet turned out. Straightening your back and bracing your abs, sink your hips back and down towards the floor. As you do this movement, allow your elbows to drop between your legs, and inside your knees. Make sure that your knees don't go over your toes while doing this movement by keeping the weight in your heels. When your hips sink just below the knees, stay in this position for a brief pause, and then drive your hips back up to return to standing position.
- Press ups -- 12 reps
Start in a high plank with your hands stacked underneath your shoulders. Slowly lower your chest towards the floor whilst ensuring your abs are tight and your spine is in neutral position. Slowly push back up to the start position.
- Hand to foot taps -- 12 reps
Start off in a high plank position, hands under your shoulders, feet extended out behind you. Engage your core, then bring your left foot in towards your chest. At the same time, bring your right hand in to tap the foot. Return both to the floor and repeat on the other side.
- Crawl outs -- 12 reps
Start with your hands and feet on the floor, legs bent with your knees under your hips. Walk your hands forward until your body is in a straight line and hands are under your shoulders. Walk your hands back to starting position.
- Sit and twist -- 12 reps
Sit on the floor, feet in front of you, with your knees bent. If using weights, hold this in front of your chest. Lift your feet off the floor, making sure to keep them bent. Keeping a tall spine, lean your torso back so you're at a 45 degree angle from the floor, and 90 degrees from your thighs. Use your abs to twist your upper body to the left. Keep the weight/ your hands in front of your chest. Twist back to the centre, and then continue to the right. Turn back to the centre. This is one rep.
- Kick throughs -- 12 reps
Start with your hands and feet on the floor, legs bent with your knees under your hips. Lift your hips back and kick your left leg underneath your core to the right. At the same time, rotate your right shoulder back and bring your arm off the floor, so you're balancing on your left arm and right foot, with your left leg and right arm in the air. Return back to the start and repeat on the other side.
- T push ups -- 12 reps
Start in a high plank with your arms directly under your shoulders, feet shoulder width apart, body in a straight line from head to feet. Engage your core. Lower your chest to the floor by bending your elbows, then push back up. Place all your weight into your left hand, then rotate your chest to the left and take your right arm up until its facing the ceiling. Pause before returning back to the start and repeating on the other side.
When working out as a family, the most important thing is that everyone enjoys themselves. Remember that everyone will have different strengths and capabilities, so encourage everyone to do what they can without comparing themselves, and to use substitutions if needed.
Looking for more ways to stay fit when you have a family? We've shared quick and efficient workouts for busy mums here, and tips for exercising when you have a busy family life here. Workout classes are also a great way to squeeze in exercise throughout the week - check out our range of 30-45 minute fitness classes here.
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