Family Fitness

Summer is a fabulous time to get out and be active with your family. By being physically active with your children, you are teaching them healthy lifestyles skills that will improve their quality and quantity of life! There are also many social enjoyments and bonding that benefit a family that is active together.

Here are some easy, fun, and inexpensive family physical activities:

• Family bike rides: Just head out on a local greenbelt, bike, trail, or safe roadway. Pack a picnic lunch and have a destination of a local park (with playground for younger children).
• Local bike parade: Many towns will have a bike ride for families with t-shirts, raffle, and prizes. Register for that and you’ll meet many new families with the same goals as well as being escorted by the local police.
• Hike together as a family: There are so many places with easy hikes for children, more advanced hikes, or expert hikes. Hiking also allows you to see some beautiful country. Include a nature hike by picking all the different wild flowers you come across.
• Swimming: what better way to cool off for the summer as well as be active and have fun.
• Run/walk together: On a beautiful evening, instead of sitting in front of the television, go for a nature walk or exploritive walk. There are also probably some fun local walk/runs including half mile or miles for little children.
• Ever heard of a dirty dash! What would be more fun and active than running through a mud obstacle course as a family…what child or adult wouldn’t love that?

Why cycling takes off pounds:

• Bicycling gives you more energy to burn
• Leads to better sleep
• Helps curve your appetite
• Relieves stress
• It is fun
• Makes you healthier

Top 4 Gym Mistakes

According to ABC News Medical Consultant Dr. Raj, CEO of Beverly Hills Orthopedic Institute, it just takes one injury to stop you from working out for a long time. Fortunately, most minor injuries have simple fixes.

Here are four ways to avoid common exercise mistakes:

• Make sure to warm up to prevent when most injuries occur.
• When performing squats, make sure to keep your toes in front of your knees.
• Stand in a staggered stance when curling or lifting weights
• Don’t sprint downhill.

(menshealth.com)

Improve Your Ab Workout

Doing your abdominal workouts correctly is equally as important as just doing the workouts. Below are some tips to help improve your abdominal workouts.

• Make sure your form is correct
• Do more plank poses, bicycle crunches, kettlebells, use bosu and exercise ball
• As you breathe pull bellybutton in towards your spine instead of pushing it out.
• Change it up!
• Keep up cardio
• Eat the right foods
• Slow down on the work out
• Get enough sleep