by Ron Aclan

Created on: February 01, 2007   Last Updated: April 18, 2007

As a father of four I've found creative ways to stay fit while spending quality time with the children. I have three daughters that range in ages from 7 to almost 4 years old (twins). My son is two and a half. Like almost all children, my kids love to play at the playground. I look forward to these times because I've found creative ways to get a workout in while they play. I often see other parents just sitting on the park benches and not interacting with their kids as they play, boy are they missing out!

Here are some things you can do to make this a great family fitness routine:

Ride your bike or walk to the playground instead of taking the minivan. Even if the park is only a mile away your kids will love this. I've got a "tag-a-long" bike for my more adventurous twin and a bicycle trailer hooked up to the tag-a-long that carries my other twin daughter and my son. My seven year old rides her own bike to the park now. You read right, I do tow 3 kids under my own power and it's a workout!

When you arrive at the playground, you can start out with the swings and run in place while you're pushing your child/ren. Keeping four kids going will definitely keep you moving! With a single child, you can do sit ups while alternating pushes while your child is swinging.

Next up, the slide. You can have your child slide down and while they are climbing back up to the slide, you can do a few push ups while you're waiting by grabbing the edges of the slide and doing incline pushups that will work your chest.

Now to the monkey bars. Your young children will need help and when you hold them up to navigate the bars, you'll be working out your deltoids. Once they've all had their turn, it's Dad's turn. At this time, you can get some pull ups in. Pull ups are great all around upper body strength builders.

With a growing family, it's tough to find time to go to the gym or get out on your own everyday. Mixing in these types of workouts will allow you to have quality time with the kids and stay fit. Your kids are your motivation to stay healthy and not an excuse for you not to exercise! Now go out and play!

It is my hope that I've inspired you if you've ever felt that your children were obstacles to staying fit and having fun:)

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