22 Jul Personal Trainer NYC Finds Activity Everywhere for Long Summer Days
About thirty years ago, summer meant leaving the house after breakfast and returning when our parents hollered our names for lunch and/or dinner. It meant riding bikes, roller skating, going home for a pit stop to refuel, then back out to catch bees in jars.
Activity was an integral part of summer.
A free summer of heading to the local pond with the neighborhood kids to swing over it on a tire feels idyllic and naively nostalgic. And though we recognize that we can’t capture those endless summer days for our families, we do need to strive to make activity a part of our children’s summer.
As a personal trainer and nutritionist in NYC, one of my biggest concerns is the rise of childhood obesity due to malnutrition and the lack of activity. This chart, published by the US Chamber of Commerce, is one that I particularly appreciate because it lays the burden of childhood obesity not only on a family but also a community: businesses, chefs, health organizations, religious organizations, governments, schools and families.
We’re almost halfway through summer, and I want to contribute to this idea and give families safe ways to promote activity in their children over the summer. Let’s keep them moving and off the couch! As a registered personal trainer, it’s my job to find activity wherever I go, and I want to share these ideas.
I understand that many parents work, and summertime can be stressful to keep our kids from driving us crazy. But with just a few little changes in our daily routines, we can make movement a part of our lives, even in urban settings, and, in turn, our children’s lives.
- Join a community dance class – as a family. Learn salsa, country western swing, or join a zumba group and go with your children.
- Get a pass at the local swimming pool, or a swimming pool near your work. Meet your child there on your lunch break and have lunch together after a morning swim.
- Sign your children up for swim classes, tennis classes … any sport to get them moving and learning.
- Make after work time, park time. Two days a week, after work, meet your kids at the park, or pick them up and go to the closest park to have a picnic and shoot hoops, play duck-duck-goose, or throw a Frisbee.
- Find out about a local bicycle club and sign your kids up to go on group rides.
- Housework is exercise in and of itself: vacuuming, dusting, sweeping and mopping.
- Do a family project – painting a room, sanding an old table. Teach your kids how to do the basics and have them continue working on them over the summer.
- Put your kids in charge of the garden – weeding does wonders for muscles!
- New York City is a Mecca for museums, many of which don’t have an admission fee. Almost every community has an art or history museum. Plan a museum day each week, wander the hallways, and walk, walk, walk through history, geography, art and more!
- Trips to the grocery store, farmer’s market, even to buy a carton of milk, can be done walking. In fact, most families I work with in the city don’t have cars. So it’s easier to take the car (or bus or subway or taxi) out of the equation. The more we walk, the better off we are. Soon our kids adopt this idea that we can walk to wherever we need to go.
- Go geocaching. Get your kids involved in treasure hunts right in their area. All they need is a GPS! Kids are remarkably savvy when it comes to technology, so after a couple of family finds, have them venture out and look for their own caches. When the focus isn’t movement, but they have to keep moving, they don’t even realize how much they’re doing.
- Find out about local events and festivals – Greek, Italian, Basque festivals that are held in parks. Walk around, enjoy a bit of culture, try the foods, and get out of the house!
Lazy summer days should mean active summer days – long days that spill late into the night. The best way to grow and stay healthy is to move and eat healthy. Find movement in small ways to bring movement to your family every day.
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