Category Archives: Going Strong

7 Outdoor Activities to do as a Family

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Spending time together as a family is so important. In order to create those lifelong bonds and memories, you have to get out there and make those moments. However, finding suitable activities for everyone to enjoy can be difficult, especially if age differences get in the way. To overcome these issues, here are seven outdoor activities that everyone in the family will enjoy.

1. A Family Hike

Get on your sneakers and head out for a fun-filled family adventure. Family hikes are a great way to spend quality time together while also exploring the sights and beauty of nature. Research the trails near you and set a date to embark on a family hike together. It’s important to encourage your kids to get outside!

Make sure to cover up in bug spray, bring water, and take a first aid kit with you. Adventure calls for safety! If you plan to stop for a home-packed lunch, make sure to pack up your food in an insulated lunch bag to keep things cool as you hike.

2. Family Picnic And Game Night

Start creating a list of board games that everyone in your family will enjoy. Once you’ve narrowed down some choices, set up a schedule to make time for family time with a routine game night at a park. Sit down at a picnic table and enjoy some friendly competition with the people you love.

Pro tip: Outdoor family game night is best spent over a barbeque, so get ready to grill and game!

3. Family Nature Walks

Find a trail nearby with plenty of natural scenery. Gather up your crew and head out for some family bonding with a family walk to collect interesting items found outdoors. Little kids might enjoy collecting pine cones or rocks, and older kids might like to collect flowers or leaves for their plant pressing kits. For the parents, look for the perfect walking stick to guide your family’s stroll.

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4. Geocaching As A Family

Download one of the many geocaching apps, locate your coordinates and head out on a treasure hunt! Make sure to bring a few items along with you to add to the treasure chest once you find it! Geocaching is an outdoor activity that is fun for all ages. All you need is a smartphone and a treasure-seeking spirit!

5. Watch The Stars

Find out when the best stargazing nights are where you live, and set up camp outdoors with the family to watch the stars. You might sit on the roof together or throw some knit blankets down on the flatbed to make stargazing more fun. Bring along some snacks, and don’t forget your binoculars! You do not want to lose those binoculars outdoors, especially if you want to pass them around for others to see the stars, so pick up some binocular straps for people to wear around their neck to stop them from getting lost.

6. Sit Around A Campfire

Grab a firepit and gather around the campfire in your backyard. Bring some marshmallows and smores ingredients for even more family fun. Tell ghost stories, listen to dad play the guitar, or look out for fireflies as they zoom through the night sky. Make it a night to remember!

7. Play Some Basketball

Whether you have a basketball hoop at home or a favorite outdoor basketball court, take the family out on the weekend and play basketball together. Some fun family games include Horse, Scramble, and Keep Away! You don’t even need to keep score to have a good time.

The Bottom Line

There are plenty of outdoor activities to enjoy doing together as a family. As long as everyone is having fun, the outdoor family adventures you choose are perfect! Consider the ideas above for inspiration, and most of all, think about the activities your family enjoys the most.

5 Easy Ways to Start a Healthier Lifestyle

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Starting a healthier lifestyle is all about committing to lifelong health. When your desire to change overpowers your desire to indulge in unhealthy habits, you are ready to start a healthy lifestyle. If you are serious about making changes, here are five tips on how to begin a healthy lifestyle to get you started.

  1. Start Eating Healthier

When you decide to lead a healthier lifestyle, the first thing to work on is your diet. Begin by incorporating healthy foods like fruits and veggies into your meals rather than completely changing your eating habits. Your body and mind need time to adjust, so don’t rush the process.

If you take it slow at first, you can change your eating behaviors. Include health vitamins into your daily eating plan to make up for any nutritional deficiencies you may have. Over time, you may discover that you are more capable of changing up your meal plan completely!

  1. Keep A Schedule

As human beings, we have internal body clocks that keep in time with nature. This means we need to begin paying attention to the sunrise and sunset and how these times interact with our eating and sleeping habits.

With so much artificial light in our lives, it can be challenging to know what time to go to bed, wake up, eat, and so on. Your best bet is to stop eating before 7 pm and wake up as early as possible while still getting eight hours of sleep. Aim to go to bed around 10 pm, and you are golden for an early start.

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  1. Incorporate Some Exercise

Give yourself time to adjust to exercise. As you start to build a habit of regular exercise, you can increase the intensity. You might consider joining a gym or hiring a personal trainer to help you reach your goals. Remember that caring for your body is caring for your mind.

  1. Practice Letting Go

We all know that stress has adverse effects on your body. An important part of building a healthy lifestyle is learning how to let go of the stress that we carry. Make an effort to take up a daily practice of letting go.

Whether you choose to meditate, enjoy a home-cooked meal, or take a bath, make your rituals intentional so that you notice the stress lifting from your shoulders.

Self-care is critical to building a healthy lifestyle. You can find many meditation apps for download to help you work on letting go. Try integrating them into your daily practice to help you destress. The more you practice, the easier this process gets.

  1. Keep A Journal

You can find journals that incorporate fitness logs and food diaries as part of their template format to make things easier to keep track of. There are also grid paper journals that make it easy to customize what you write into organized boxes.

As you make changes, you will want to be tracking your progress. Keeping a record of your thoughts and feelings about your lifestyle changes will make it easier for you to reflect and look back on areas you can improve upon. Journaling is also an excellent outlet for stress, helping you to improve your mental health as well.

The Bottom Line

Starting up a healthy lifestyle means taking baby steps and tracking your progress as you go. Do what works for you regarding your eating habits and exercise, and prioritize sticking to a sleep schedule that honors your internal body clock. Do all of these things, and soon, you will find that you have reached a healthier state of being.

The Steps You Should Follow Before Starting a Workout

Taking part in a fitness workout is a great way to improve your health, and though it sounds like a popular pastime to many people, actually starting the workout is easier said than done. Many people will already have a good idea about which activities they would like to participate in, so the next step for them will be to think about the steps needed to start their workout.

From looking for the perfect pre-ride snack if your chosen exercise is cycling, to gathering the right equipment if you are playing rugby or football, knowing where to start can be very beneficial to the success of your workout.

So, let’s learn more.

Eat a Healthy Snack

One of the first things that many people decide to do before starting a workout is to grab a healthy snack. This is because it helps to give your body the fuel it needs to complete all of your workout without experiencing any difficulties. Everyone knows that your desired workout will lead to your energy levels taking a hit, but eating a healthy pre workout snack can provide you with enough energy to complete it.

Sports such as cycling, for example, require someone to use a lot of energy because it is a strenuous activity that requires you to use different parts of your body at the same time. Furthermore, taking the time to ingest a healthy snack , that has energy boosting properties beforehand, will not only give you increased motivation to achieve your goals, but will also mean that your endurance performance will be heightened too. Even if you don’t feel like eating, this is something that you should definitely consider doing. You will feel better for it afterward.

Gather Your Equipment

As well as gathering any balls, sticks, or posts that you need for your activity, you also need to think about your workout gear. Exercising isn’t a fashion show and what matters more than anything is your comfort level. At the end of the day, you need to be comfortable because if you’re not comfortable, you will find it much harder to complete your workout. The most important piece of clothing you need to consider when exercising is your shoes. If you are a runner, you need to find shoes that are designed to be run in and not shoes that are meant for cyclists or hikers. Similarly, if you’re into deadlifting, you will need lifting gear such as wrist straps and a lifting belt from Turtle Strength Australia. It really is that simple.

As well as your fitness gear, if you know you need certain pieces of equipment, be sure to get that in plenty of time before your workout. For example, if you are joining a local football club, you need to make sure you have football boots, shinpads, and maybe even Kinesiology Tape to help support certain areas of your body. This is because some clubs might not provide this, but you will expect them to provide the footballs and goal posts.

So, if you’re trying something new for the first time, preparation is key.

Consider Your Fitness Level

Regardless of your age or gender, everyone will have varying fitness levels. Because of this, you need to make sure that you don’t compare yourself to others, as there is a very high chance that you won’t be able to match them in terms of fitness. By knowing what your own fitness levels are, you will be able to design a workout program around these levels to ensure that you are meeting any goals and targets that you have in mind.

Not only that, but accurately assessing where you are fitness wise will allow you to measure any future progress you make since you started. Seeing how far you have come in your fitness journey will provide the motivation you need to continue pushing forward in order to meet your long term goal. There are many guides you can follow to determine how to assess your fitness level before starting your chosen fitness regime.

Everyone should strive to live a healthier life. It may come easier to some than others, but the most important thing to bear in mind is that you shouldn’t give up. There is something out there for everyone, and once you have found a workout that brings you happiness, and more importantly, results, it will become increasingly easier to work toward any targets that you have.

Before you know it, you will be a fitness expert, and you will be able to reflect on how far you’ve come with joy and satisfaction.