Staying Fit During Restrictions: 6 Effective Ways

With remote learning, and hours on being outside lessened, limiting physical activities, it is expected that a sedentary lifestyle would affect kids a lot. We can’t discount the  many benefits of going to a park nearby for children, but since we are practicing social distancing, there’s only so little time we can spend outside.

While the kilos is not really an indication of one’s health, keeping a proper weight is a good start to be healthy. You can use this  ideal weight calculator to see or estimate the weight that is right for you. To keep the muscles from rusting, here are some activities you can do with the kids.

Yard Fun

Do you have a yard? You can let the kids bike around, or let them play some games with their siblings that would make them run and sweat, and you can also join in on the fun.  You can even install swings, trampoline if you don’t have any yet.

If you enjoy plants, getting your hands dirty can be good for you. Just make sure to wash meticulously as you would. Get the kids to  help you with garden work. Enjoy…while at the same time taking some fresh air in.

Indoor Virtual Game

Do you still have your Wii Fit board tucked somewhere? It’s time to put it to good use. You can play Wii tennis, golf, and many others in the comforts of your living room. ^_^ If you have a VR (virtual reality) Headset, you can play some of your usual phone games or something close to your favorite.

Racoon Lagoon, for one, is like VR Animal Crossing. You can meet creatures you can do tasks for, as you would in Animal Crossing and access new areas by earning hearts. (but please use with discretion depending on child’s age)

Online Sports and Classes

With the restrictions of physically attending sports events, coaches and trainers turn to the power of virtual platforms to continue teaching students their expertise.

Taekwondo

The kids used to attend taekwondo classes on Friday afternoons. Dad being a black-belter, they also enjoyed doing some sparring with him at home. Now, virtual Taekwondo classes are being offered by trainers.

Zumba

I used to attend zumba classes near where we live – about a 5-minute walk. The class is just 60 minutes, but because we have an enthusiastic trainer, we’d end up with buckets of sweat. You can still practice zumba while at home by following videos, technology has really brought us so many good things, and one is to be able to follow dance steps even at home.

Tennis, Badminton, Table Tennis

If allowed, you can play indoor tennis, badminton, or table tennis with the family. There might be indoor gyms that would allow a number of people to play on schedules.

Eat Less Sugar, Drink Enough

The three major  macronutrients our body needs are Fat, Proteins, and Carbohydrates. However, cutting back on refined (simple) carbohydrates can do a lot for our body. Sugar causes inflammation, and other bad things inside our body. Not taking it or going lowcarb means our teeth, kidney, and blood will be happier!

You’ve heard it often – “drink water!”  Not juices, not sodas, not flavored drinks, just water. And that’s for a good reason. But like with other things, too much isn’t really good. You have to drink just enough, because too much water is not good for your kidney. You know, too much water drowns plants…it’s the same with our kidneys. The Mayo Clinic weighs in on how much water should we drink and here’s a summary:

• About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day for men
• About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women

And the BBC recommends children to take in the following amount of water in a day:

• Boys and girls aged 4-8 years need 1.1 to 1.3 litres per day
• Girls aged 9-13 years need 1.3 to 1.5 litres per day.
• Boys aged 9-13 years need 1.5 to 1.7 litres per day.

With these estimates in mind, remember that some food also contain water, this adds up to our water consumption too – watermelons and cucumbers are the best example!

Mind Games and Books

“Fill your house with stacks of books, in all the crannies and all the nooks,” says Dr. Seuss. Albeit having some of his books discontinued, there are still a lot from his collection worth re-reading. There are also so many books worth to be noticed by kids (and adults), no matter if they’re bestsellers or if they didn’t make the list of topselling books. We recommend the following:

My Book of Bible Stories
Love You Forever (Robert Munsch and Sheila McGraw)
The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
The Giving Tree (Shel Silverstein)
The Ugly Duckling (Hans Christian Andersen)
Harold and the Purple Crayon (Crockett Johnson)
Where the Sidewalk Ends (Shel Silverstein)
A Bear Called Paddington (Michael Bond)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl)
The Cat in the Hat (Dr. Seuss) (and more of his)

There are a lot more books that your kids will surely love, but these ones will make them love reading all the more, if they aren’t hooked yet. To further keep the brain from idling, we also recommend to engage in mind games, puzzles, and books that are meant for the thinking child. Sudoku, for example, is a challenging mind game your child can engage in for hours on end. Chess, is another strategic game that requires concentration and analytical thinking. And then there’s the Rubik’s cube, it doesn’t only teach your child patience, solving one makes him think hard before making a move, much like when deciding on things later on in life.

Do you craft? There are many things at home that you can DIY, just ask mom and dad for help, being creative is a good thing!

Sleep Well

Every machine that works continuously tires up or gets overheated or sometimes kaputt, just the same with our bodies. Sleep is very important because it is when the body enables itself to repair. Sleep makes us fit and be ready for another day. There are a lot of benefits when one sleeps well, and there are of course risks when one doesn’t sleep enough. For one, sleeping less than the time our body needs is associated with  risk of weight gain in both children and adults.

Staying Fit During Restrictions: Takeaways

Being at home, we stopped doing many things we love. But don’t let this make your life sedentary, there are many other things we can do to have fun, and new stuff to love. There are ways for us to be healthy, and have fun with the family at home, because as long as we’re together – that’s what matters.. Here’s what our little friends have to say on how we can stay fit during restrictions:

Eating healthy by reducing sugar intake can make us hyperactive but later on sluggish. Playing indoors with interactive gadgets, or virtual plays also keep our muscles moving – so do more of this but if you have a yard, play with your siblings or ride your bike!

To keep the hands and mind from being idle: reading and keeping the mind active  are things that we do even on days that we are not restricted. We just have to be innovative and discover more things we can love.

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