Too Busy With Kids to Work Out? How to Get Your Whole Family Moving Together

Welcome to More Movement, Please. This is famous

Ashley Grant, and this is the podcast that inspires

you to move your body more. Today, we're talking

about something I hear all the time. Ashley,

I'd love to work out, but I have kids, or my

partner isn't into fitness, so it's hard to stay

motivated. And look, I get it. Life is busy,

and when you have a family, it can feel impossible

to carve out time for the gym. But here's the

thing. What if I told you that your family doesn't

have to be an obstacle to movement? What if instead,

they could actually be part of the solution?

So today, let's talk about family fitness fun.

But first, let's address the elephant in the

room. I have a friend who's sort of in this exact

same situation. He's got young kids, and the

idea of going to the gym feels like a luxury

that he just can't afford time -wise. Between

work and dinner and bedtime routines and everything

else, when is he supposed to fit in his workouts?

And here's the answer. He doesn't have to separate

fitness from family time. He can actually combine

them both. Because think about it. Kids, they're

already naturally active. They run, they jump,

they have energy for days. So instead of trying

to find time away from the kids to exercise,

why not join them? Take them to the park and

actually play with them. Chase them around, get

on the swings, play tag, do the monkey bars.

You would be surprised just how much of a workout

you can get. simply by being an active participant

in playtime instead of sitting on the bench scrolling

through your phone. And for those of you with

older kids, even better. Family bike rides, hiking

adventures, backyard sports, these are all opportunities

for movement that also build memories and connections

with your children. But now let's switch gears

and talk about partners. This one's personal

for me because I'm actively working on this with

my own husband. He's not necessarily one of those

guys that likes to go to the gym and lift weights,

but he does like... activities like pickleball

and sports he's actually interested in. So here's

what I've learned. Movement doesn't have to look

like, you know, traditional exercise, because

what is that anyway? If your partner's not into

going to the gym, that's okay. Find activities

they actually enjoy. And like I said, for my

husband, it's pickleball, it's tennis, soccer,

those kinds of things. For someone else, it could

be swimming or dancing, rock climbing, or even

just walking the dog together. The key is to

meet them where they are. Don't drag your partner

to a spin class if they hate indoor cycling.

Instead, suggest trying something new together.

Make it fun. Make it social. Make it feel less

like a workout and more like quality time. Or

maybe while you're doing the workouts that you

want to do, you take them to the gym and they

go and do the things they want to do. This is

exactly what my husband and I have been doing.

On Mondays, I go to my Zumba and my low -impact

cardio class. Afterwards, my husband does pickleball.

It's a great way to get us both out. get us both

active and we're doing things we enjoy and it

doesn't feel as much like a chore. So here are

some practical ideas for getting your family

moving together. For families with young children,

consider doing dance parties in the living room.

Turn on their favorite music and just go wild

for 15 minutes. Maybe create obstacle courses

in the backyard using whatever you have, from

hula hoops to jump ropes to whatever. Try taking

family walks after dinner. It doesn't have to

be long, even 10 minutes of movement. is more

movement than you're probably doing now. And

if you have them, consider doing active video

games, but set time limits. For families that

have older kids, try these. Weekend hikes or

nature walks. Teaching them sports that you loved

as a kid. Or maybe you could do family challenges

like who can hold a plank the longest, or who

can do the most jumping jacks, or who can do

the most push -ups. Sometimes being competitive

is a great way to get kids moving. Volunteering

for active causes together, that could also be

fun. Like think about doing park cleanups or

even fun runs where you're raising money for

charity. Forgetting your partner involved. Maybe

find a shared interest. It could be tennis or

salsa dancing or even something as simple as

kayaking or hiking. And then make it a date.

Instead of dinner and a movie, try mini golf

and a walk. And then another thing you could

do is join a recreational sports league together.

Then again, if you don't like doing the same

things that they do, that's okay too. So just

be their accountability buddy. Check in with

each other about your movement goals and maybe

set couple goals together. Like maybe you could

train for something together and that could be

one way you bond. But here's the thing. It's