Keeping Fit as a Family

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It is important that I lead by example and as I train for the Simplyhealth Great Bristol Run I am making sure my children learn about how important it is to keep fit, and how necessary it is to look after your body as you are doing it. My plan from Simplyhealth has made sure I have everything I need to look after myself, including physiotherapy and podiatry. We have been getting more creative with the ways we keep active as the summer holidays come to an end, so I wanted to share our five favourite ways to stay active together.

1) The children have had their scooters for ages and I have recently started getting out more on mine as they love it when we make it a family activity. They have so much more stamina on a scooter than they seem to on foot and there are some lovely areas locally where we can take them and race around. I haven’t yet braved the skate park with them but I am not ruling it out!


2) It is so easy to stay out of their games, but actually getting involved can be so much fun and many of their games are super active. We love playing different versions of tag where I am always the one chasing them and garden obstacle courses are another favourite. Both of them allow me to do something the children love whilst also being active together and encouraging each other further. It was actually some of the games that made me want to start running in the first place as I found I got tired so quickly and I wanted to be able to keep up with them!


3) We are lucky to have a park locally with some great activities including a table tennis table. We bought our own paddles and balls and it is a lovely after school activity if we need to get some fresh air and exercise. Many parks now have outdoor gyms or areas for sports so now is the time to go exploring and see what you can find!


4) Swimming is a family favourite for lots of people and we are no different. All four children have separate swimming lessons but they love it when we go for a ‘play swim’ and they still practice everything they have been learning as well as loving games of shark and catch. The water is one of the best places to exercise as it is more gentle on joints than impact sports too.


5) As the boys are getting bigger, I am able to take them out on shorter runs with me and there are lots of races that have children’s categories including the Simplyhealth Great Junior and Mini Runs. Running together is a great way to spend some quality time with them and to push each other and they have a unique way of running at the moment that involves lots of sprints alongside some very slow speeds which is great for preparing me for a sprint finish!

It is lovely to be able to prepare for my big event as a family and I have been making the most of my plan from Simplyhealth to ensure I am ready, from a new optical prescription check to ensure I can see everything clearly as I run around, to physiotherapy to make sure my weaker ankle is up for the challenge of 13.1 miles! You can find out more about my plan from Simplyhealth here and if you need inspiration on how to get your children involved, ask them what they want to play!