Child’s Play – When does fitness become a chore!?!

So I’ve been asked to design a “fitness” obstacle course for this family event in June. Most of the kids doing the course will be between the ages of like 5 and 10 years old.

I was told it needs to be something FUN but at the same time active and fitness-related.

When she said, “FUN and FITNESS-RELATED” she almost said it as if the two together weren’t completely possible…Most adults don’t consider something fitness-related fun…they call it working out.

But what we call working out, kids call PLAY.

Seriously, when did it change?

When did accomplishing something physical NOT become something super exciting but instead something we avoid?

I mean I see all the children come into the gym and get so excited to swing and lift up heavy things. The kids get SO EXCITED when they can pick up something heavy or climb the rope.

They get so excited because they see it as expanding their boundaries and accomplishing something they either couldn’t do or hadn’t done before.

Their parents on the other hand, sometimes roll their eyes and groan when they have to climb the rope…Or they grab a lighter weight then they really should be doing.

Kids see the exercises as proving that they CAN DO something. Parents see exercises as something they have to do.

Which honestly makes me kind of sad.

Working out is something I GET TO DO. Something I look forward to. Something I love.

And I want to instill that same love in everyone I meet.

So I’ve now been considering, what obstacles/exercises should I include in the course at the event in June? What will make kids fall in love with exercising so that it always remains PLAY!?!

When I started doing some research, I stumbled across a ton of activities I LOVED when I was little. Like double-dutch, four square, kickball, hopscotch, climbing trees, Red Rover…and Skip It…Dude I want to do it right now…

And to think most adults think of “jumping rope” or “hopping” as exercise. Skip It was basically jumping rope, except you NEVER wanted to stop!