Motivation

Staying motivated to stick to your physical activity routine can be challenging. We’ve found some resources to help you incorporate movement into your day that are hopefully sustainable and realistic. Remember, even seemingly small decisions throughout your day can contribute to your overall physical activity goals.

Move Your Way®

Move Your Way is a physical activity campaign from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to promote the recommendations from the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. They provide free tools, videos, and fact sheets on their website.

Move Your Way® Activity Planner

• Use this planner to set goals, choose activities that you want to do, and get tips to help you stay motivated.
• When you’re done, print the plan to track your activity throughout the week.

 

Fun for the Whole Family

Finding yourself having to choose between time with your family and physical activity? You don’t always have to choose between the two. Here are some different ideas of how to get some movement in with the whole family.

Physical Activity Bingo

• Many different versions of this can be found, or you can make up your own and have your family help brainstorm ideas.
• Check out these Nutrition and Physical Activity Bingo Cards |from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cooperative Extension– they’ve created a version for all seasons!

Obstacle Courses

• What child doesn’t love an obstacle course? All types of movement and exercise can be in an obstacle course and can be adapted for indoor and outdoor play. It also doesn’t require any special equipment, just your imagination!
• Here is a guide from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cooperative Extension on creating a sidewalk chalk obstacle course.

The Classics

• Think back to those days on the playground- Simon Says, Red Light Green Light, Sharks and Minnows, and Tag are all classic games that are a lot of fun for the kids, and can get everyone moving!

Switch it Up

Feeling stuck in a rut with your exercise routine, or finding it “boring”? Try out some of these different workout ideas to switch up your routine.

Deck of Cards Workout

A fun way to switch up your workout routine is to pull out a deck of cards. 

1. Choose four different exercises that you want to do, and assign each exercise a suit in the deck of cards (hearts, diamonds, clubs, or spades). 
2. Shuffle the deck up and pull out a card. Whichever suit you pull is the exercise that you’ll do, and the number on the card is how many repetitions of the exercise you will do!
3. You can try to make it through the whole deck and vary the workouts as needed, or set a timer for a certain length of time and go until the time is up. 

For some inspiration on how to do a deck of cards workout, read this article: Deck of Cards Workout for a Full-Body Routine (verywellfit.com)

Step, Walking, and Dance Workouts

• Stuck inside but want to get a quick workout in? In cold or rainy weather, or if it’s night time and you’re looking to get in a little movement before bed, a step workout or walking workout may be the perfect solution. 
• Type in “walking workout” or “step workout” on YouTube and see what you can find. If you want to dust off some more dance moves, you can search “dance workout” or “Zumba” as well.
• You can also try typing in a genre of music or favorite artist along with the other search terms to see if you can find a workout that includes some of your favorite tunes to move to!

**The participant should be aware of the typical dangers, hazards and risks that accompany any physical activity. Participants are aware of and shall assume all risk and liability for any and all injuries that may come from physical activity, including, but not limited to, sprains, breaks, tears, bruises, lacerations, falls, broken bones, head injuries, and heart or lung issues. You should always check with your primary care physician before starting any exercise regimen or physical activity.