Gold's Gym SoCal Blog

Fun Family Workouts: Stay Strong During Social Distancing

Written by Gold's Gym SoCal | 4.27.2020

With schools offering online learning only and many professionals suddenly working from home during this period of social distancing, you may have a lot of family time on your hands! Without recess, playdates, or alone time, you all might be feeling stir-crazy. Here’s an awesome solution: try family workouts.

Family exercise is a smart way to stay healthy by releasing energy, relieving stress, and taking care of your family during the quarantine.

Why Family Exercise Is Important Right Now

Chances are, you’ve got a few basic goals for your family during this “quaran-cation”:

  • Stay healthy
  • Stay sane
  • Enjoy the quality time together

Family exercise helps you reach all those goals. It even strengthens the immune system. Experts say that being active together actually strengthens family bonds, too. So you can count on fun exercise helping you keep the peace in your home. 

Fun Ideas for Staying Active

Doing family workouts that are fun will encourage kids to participate, and make the memories even more special. Stay active by:

  • Having a dance party at home
  • Going for walks in your neighborhood
  • Playing yard games together like tag or red light, green light
  • Doing calming animal yoga poses
  • Challenging each other to contests (who can do more push-ups?)
  • Taking turns being a small group training “instructor” for each other (think follow the leader, but exercising!)

For a challenge that will get all your hearts pumping, complete this guided Family Circuit Workout by our Director of Fitness, Andrea Ausmus. It’s a fun way to exercise together. Give it a try a few days a week to start a “quaran-cation tradition” and see how you all progress. 

Exercises Kids Of All Ages Can Do

If you don’t have weights or fitness equipment at home, your family can still do bodyweight moves, functional exercises, or get creative with “weights.” Give your kids empty bottles or cans for weights. Everyone can even decorate their own and fill them up to add resistance. 

Choose from these mini-circuits for family-friendly workouts:

JUMP Routine

  • Repeat circuit 3x
  • Hop on each foot 10x
  • 10 jumping jacks
  • 10 tuck jumps
  • 10 hurdle hops

Up and Down Workout

  • 10 pushups
  • 10 criss-cross feet jumps
  • Repeat 3x
  • 10 second plank
  • 10 squats
  • Repeat 3x
  • 10 sit-ups
  • 10 standing calf raises per foot
  • Repeat 3x

Race to Burn Energy Circuit

  • Do each exercise racing from one end of a room and back. Repeat 3 times (winner is best out of 3!):
  • Jog 
  • High-step
  • Tushy-kick walk
  • Side-step
  • Lunge

These family workout ideas will keep you and your tribe active during this social distancing season. They’re also a great head start on reaching many fitness goals. Kick it up a notch by working through this FREE Guide to Getting Gym Ready.

 Gold’s Gym SoCal is an association of separate clubs—click here for info.