Are you worried that your family is turning into a sack of couch potatoes ? It’s true, there are many families where most of the members would rather sit around and watch TV or play games than get up and get fit .  As a parent , though, you may be wondering how you can get a fit family.  One simple way is to create a family fitness challenge.

Step One – You’ll need to find some activities that everyone in the family is willing to do .  Some common fitness for kids activities include biking, hiking, walking, or swimming .  Just make sure that all members of the family will be willing to get in on the action .

Step 2. Make a fit family plan that includes everyone .  Look at everyone’s schedules and see when the whole family has time available for fitness fun .   This is the best time to schedule your fit family time.   If it’s impossible to find a time when the whole family can do it together than you can create a schedule that allows everyone a block of time for exercise – ideally partnered with a parent or an older sibling.

Step 3. Create the challenge.   Every member of the family may have different fitness goals – for parents it may be a weight loss goal but for the kids it may be a time or distance goal.  Record your baseline stats and then create a chart to keep track of everyone’s progress towards their fitness goals.

Step 4 .  Create a fit family journal.  You can find these on the internet or make on yourself .  A good journal will have a place to track a date, the activity and the amount of time spent on the fitneess activity.

Step 5: Motivation – As a family decide on some rewards for kids reaching their fitness goals invidiually and also ones for the whole family.  It might be a movie night, a family outing, or a new item for the family to share.    Just be sure to celebrate reaching your goals in healthy way

Of course, before you start a fit family challenge, you’ll want to check with your doctor to make sure everyone is up to physical activity.   A fitness family challenge is also a good way to talk about other healthy habits, like a sensible diet.

In the end, remember that the goal of a family fitness challenge is to encourage your family to be healthy.