5 Ways to Exercise as a Family This Summer

In today's busy families, two areas are generally lacking: Exercise and Family Time. Why not accomplish both at the same time? Here are 5 ways you can spend time together and trim down as a family.

1. Bike. If you don't have a bicycle, it's time you bought one. With quality adult bikes starting at around $70, there's no excuse not to invest in one. A double-seater child carrier runs about $100, and a child's seat which attaches to an adult's bike costs around $25. Add $15 per helmet and you can outfit a family of four with biking gear for $300-400. That may seem a little expensive at first, but bikes last for several years. Once you have the gear, you can hit your state park and forest trails, local trails and neighborhood sidewalks and parks. It's a great to enjoy those spring, summer and fall evenings with your family, while getting a good workout.

2. Play Frisbee. Take your family and head to a park or an open field and teach your kids how to throw a Frisbee. Once you all get the hang of it, you will enjoy making up games and holding competitions to see who can throw it the farthest, behind their back, under their leg, etc. A Frisbee will set you back between $2-7.

3. Swim. Swimming is an excellent form of exercise and fun in the summertime. Invest in a few beach balls and life jackets and head to the beach or neighborhood pool. Many hotels also have open swim days year-round. Swim gear should cost you about $20 per person.

4. Hold Olympics. When I was growing up, our family loved holding family Olympics in our living room. In nice weather you can hold it in your back yard. Areas of competition can include skipping, jumping rope, hula-hooping, hopping (one foot or two, backward/forward), bear crawling, wheelbarrow racing, army crawling, running, crab walking (forward/backward), etc. Your creativity is the limit. This form of family exercise is free!

5. Play Tag. Freeze tag, TV tag, movie tag, music tag, monkey tag (under the legs)...how many kids of tag are there? The beauty of tag is that you can alter the rules however you want to accommodate the age and interests of your kids. Tag is not just a game for outside, you can play in your house as well. This game is also free!

You probably don't need to be convinced that your family could use more exercise, as well as more togetherness. With a few good investments and some creativity you can begin to address this need now.