Fun, Family, Fitness

I got to spend the past week visiting with my son and 3 grandchildren; the twins Hunter and Siena who are nearly 6, and Ray, who is about 4 and a half. We all had a great time and spent much of the time together being active.

Being active is the natural state for children. The truth is that we, the adults, are the ones that are trying to limit their activities. We tell them to stop running, sit quietly, be still, etc. Is it any wonder that we, the adults, think that being a grown up means not being active? It’s a shame.

Being nearly 70 days into the 100 Days Challenge there was no way that I was going to miss a day even in the midst of all the other things going on. Part of my commitment, though, was to modeling to the kids that being active is NOT just for children. We, the adults, need to be active too.

As they’ve gotten older each of the children has demonstrated different skills and interests. Hunter took to snow skiing. He’s a master of the driving games. Siena loves to climb and swing on the ladder bars in the park. She can hang and move across the bars like a gymnast. Ray, the most ballistic of the 3, loves physical contact but is also a wizard at the complicated video games. He was trying to teach his grandpa how to work the Wii controllers but I never did figure it out.

What I’ve learned – again- over the past 70 days is that ANY activity is better than NO activity. It doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t have to be exhausting. It just as to be consistent. It’s a lesson that I’m going to try to take to the sedentary world I live in.

But I’m also not a fanatic. I understand that children AND adults need to have a balance in their lives between what they like and what they need.

Waddle on, friends.

John

John “the Penguin” Bingham, Competitor Magazine columnist Author, The Courage to Start, No Need for Speed, Marathoning for Mortals and Running for Mortals.

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