As families shelter in place together, keeping active is a great way to spend family time, decrease stress and improve overall health – not to mention that it burns a lot of energy.  In a live panel, “Family Fitness During COVID-19,” experts shared tips to develop engaging and time-efficient programming to support clients who want to or need to exercise as a family – and have fun while doing it! Panelists included Brett Klika, CSCS, CEO of SPIDERfit Kids and international fitness leader; Anna Woods, ACE Certified Personal Trainer, founder and owner of sheSTRENGTH; and Kathleen Tullie, MBA, founder and executive director of BOKS (Build Our Kids Success), a scientifically-proven physical activity program for children.  

Exercise has many benefits for youth from reducing anxiety and depression to improving concentration and sleep, shares Kathleen. During this time, it’s important to reimagine physical activity for youth so it stays a part of their routine. And, Anna adds, it’s important to keep your own workout routine in check.  

To keep the family active, invite kids to join your workout if appropriate. Anna’s kids help her pick out the warm-up or cool-down so they feel more engaged. If your kids are not old enough to participate, Anna recommends having a “workout toy box” where specific toys are only shared during parent-workout time. In addition, there are many live-streaming exercise classes and recordings geared for kids. Brett hosts a daily class as does BOKS; these are great options to build in exercise as part of the family’s new housebound routine.  

Get teenagers involved with a little creativity and flexibility. Host friendly family competitions, participate in social media exercise challenges, use a reward system (e.g., exercise time for screen time) or empower the teen to create the family exercise activity.  

Overall, all of the ACE experts agreed: Don’t overthink it; have fun and be flexible! Some of the options mentioned may require some additional thought or preparation, but the important thing is to keep you and your family moving where it can simply be a family walk one day and a live-streaming class the next.  

Obstacle Courses with Household Items 

Create fun and engaging obstacle courses with everyday household items and some imagination. Brett recommends demonstrating each obstacle with kids so they understand the movement (e.g., run around the chair then do 5 frog jumps). As kids get more accustomed to the variety of obstacle course options, encourage them to create their own obstacle courses to challenge the entire family. Some ideas for obstacle course items are listed below, but feel free to get creative and use what you have available. 

• Chairs – Go over, around or under chairs. 
• Pillows – Practice balance by standing on pillows. 
• Plastic cups and tupperware – Place on the floor for makeshift cones. 
• Blankets – Use on non-carpeted floors to push and pull participants or objects. Blankets can also be draped over chairs for tunnels.  
• Sidewalk chalk – Draw agility ladders, lines or arrows to follow, baseball bases or hopscotch squares. 
• Tape – Can't go outside? Use tape to mark areas indoors.  
• Cardboard boxes – Create quick tunnels to crawl through or use small cardboard boxes to jump over. 

Other Resources 

Live-streaming classes 

• BOKS classes for kids on Facebook (daily) 
• SPIDERfit Kids classes on Facebook (daily) 
• SheSTRENGTH classes for adults on Facebook (check schedule) 

Recorded classes and exercise ideas 

• BOKS Kids at Home - Games, activity packs and videos to keep kids active at home.  
• P.E. for Your Living Room – Downloadable videos from Brett Klika of SPIDERfit Kids. 
• Powerfulplayground.com - Videos and blogs from Brett Klika of SPIDERfit Kids. 
• sheSTRENGTH website – Videos, blogs and at-home training programs from Anna Woods. 

Panelists 

Brett Klika, CSCS 

CEO of SPIDERfit Kids  

Brett Klika, CEO of SPIDERfit Kids and an IDEA Personal Trainer of the Year is a personal trainer, author and international motivational speaker inspiring men, women and children around the world to create a culture of wellness in their home and live the best version of their life. Brett combines evidence-based research with years of fitness experience to provide creative, play-focused environments that build the foundations necessary for true physical literacy and help improve cognitive and behavioral outcomes. 

Anna Woods 

Founder & Owner of sheSTRENGTH 

Anna Woods is a wife and mom to 3 from central Kansas. As a CrossFit Athlete, she was given the name Home Gym, because she was the only competitor who did not belong to a gym. She chose to workout at home for many reasons, but mostly for her family including a child with special needs. She retired from competing to develop her business, sheSTRENGTH which has empowered women all over the world as she coaches in the barn on her property and through her online app. 

Kathleen Tullie, MBA 

Founder and Executive Director of BOKS (Build Our Kids Success) 

Kathleen Tullie is the Senior Director of Social Purpose at Reebok International and Founder & Executive Director of BOKS. Prior to joining Reebok Kathleen founded the BOKS program (originally known as FitKidz) in 2009 and before that Kathleen accomplished an 18-year career in real estate finance. BOKS is a scientifically proven physical activity program for children. Through BOKS, Kathleen empowers parents and schools across the nation to provide opportunities for movement to all children, regardless of economic factors.