Time to Play! Childhood Exercises for All Ages
Getting tired with the same-old regimen at the gym? Switch up your workout by thinking back to your childhood self and the activities that you did while you were at school or at home. From bike rides around the block to jumping rope with your neighbors, little did you know these activities have surprising health benefits. You m
ight have just done them for fun, but they also kept you active and healthy. It’s never too late to return to those games that you played during recess, as you can incorporate them into your daily workouts. Here are a few to kick start the fun.
Bike ride
Remember when you would take your bike and ride around your neighborhood? Perhaps you also used it to go to school or a friend’s house. Riding your bike at a leisurely pace is still a workout, burning 200 to 300 calories per hour while also toning your butt and legs. Take it further from your neighborhood by biking along the beach, or perhaps a nearby park.
Jump rope
Whether it is Double Dutch or regular freestyling, jumping rope is an excellent way to spice up your cardio workout. Studies have shown that jumping rope for fifteen to twenty minutes burns just as many calories as running, while also placing less stress on the ankles and knees. All you need is a jump rope and an area for exercise, and you can bring on the fun!
Hula hoop
This popular toy from the 1950s is making its comeback as a killer-ab workout gadget. Not only does hula-hooping help you whittle your waist-line, but it also helps with spine flexibility and motor coordination. Even further, doing it for a mere ten minutes burns over 50 calories, and you can burn up to 300 calories per hour.
Monkey bars
Want to enhance your upper-body strength? If so, then monkey bars are an excellent way to work your shoulders, core, and sid
e abs. You can do the standard move that
you did as a child, flowing from one bar to the other, one at a time. To get things pumping, though, challenge yourself by skipping bars or doing monkey-bar abs. Pretty soon, you will be breaing a sweat.
Trampoline
Whoever knew that bouncing around could have health benefits? Jumping on a trampoline is a great alternative to running, as it minimizes stress on your joints while also improving balance and cardiovascular health. Like many other activities, though, there also comes potential danger for falling off: make sure you’re on one that has side-wall protection, and always have someone to look out for you just in case. Otherwise, jump to your heart’s content!
Swimming
Just like biking, swimming is a common form of exercise that has carried with us into adulthood. Countless summers of splashing in the pool can be transformed into a full-body exercise to get into good shape. You’ll get more of a workout by going against the water, in a state of what is known as “neutral buoyancy.” In other words, you will develop more muscle strength by resisting the current in a way that works out your entire body. For fantastic health, just keep swimming!
Ultimate Frisbee
Frisbees aren’t just for dogs: they are also incredibly useful to get you into shape. Besides improving hand-eye coordination, ultimate Frisbee also works your legs and hips, especially when it comes to sprinting towards the disc and jumping to receive it. You’ll even get some social time in while you have fun with friends. Truly, ultimate Frisbee is the ultimate pastime for everyone!
