Exercise Games

It's been over two months since my last post... Wow - did that sound like the start of a Catholic confession or what??

Anyway, I really don't have much to say about the goal tending. I'm sucking on it big time! But, I am doing the karate every week, which is why I'm finally writing. I feel so much better every Wednesday morning than I do any other morning (except Sundays when I actually drag my butt to church and get my infusion of God!)

Anyway, with the Karate, I'm not only learning the self-defense moves and having fun with my kids, but I've also learned two cool "warm-up" routines (they call them GAMES at the dojo - HA!) that I wanted to share with you all!

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RUNNING THROUGH THE WOODS
Essentially, you are simply running in place. Mostly. With some twists. Every once in awhile, the leader will yell out "bird", "rock", "river", "hill", "bear", etc. and you have to do the required action to avoid the obstacle. Here's the list of actions:

1. Bird: squat down, then get up and start jogging again
2. Rock: jump up, then resume jogging
3. Bear: run in place fast, like you're being chased by a bear! When leader says you're safe, resume jogging
4. Hill: "surf" (one arm in front and one arm over your head, one foot in front, and the other back) down the hill. Once you're 'at the bottom' resume regular jogging again
5. River: Swim across the river then resume jogging "on the other side"
6. Tree: Side steps to get around tree. Resume jogging "on the other side"
7. Fallen Tree: hold arms out like you're on a balance beam and walk slowly "across" the log. Resume jogging "on the other side"
8. Mountain: "Climb" using arms and legs. For the "down part of the mountain", sit on your butt and bounce like you're sliding down. Resume jogging "at the bottom"

You can do these with your kids, with you acting as the part of the leader, calling out the obstacles and showing them what to do. Once they get the hang of it, let THEM be the leader (then it becomes a serious workout, cuz you never know what kids will do!). It's even more fun to combine them - say bird AND a rock at the same time or in quick sequence. Or, run into birds, rocks and trees while running from the bear. Or have a river on the mountain. You can just have all sorts of fun with this one!

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BALANCING ACT

This is more of a cool down, but it definitely strengthens your legs AND FEET!

Simply stand on one leg for as long as possible, then hop-switch to the other one (only one foot can ever be touching!) and stand on that as long as possible.

As a competition, you sit down when you stand with both feet until the last person is standing. If no one seems to be falling, make it harder!

1. Start with the 'up' foot parked on the down leg (resting against it)
2. Change it up so the up foot isn't parked.
3. Change again so the up leg has to be high-bent - thigh parallel to the ground.
4. If you need one still harder, have the up leg be STRAIGHT out (entire leg parallel to the ground).

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Hope you all enjoy these. Let me know if you try them out with or without your kids - would love to know what they think too!