During this Easter weekend you may be spending time with your kids and family and what better way to have fun together than with exercise!
This weekend, we have been inspired by the Easter bunny so we are going to combine cardio and plyometrics with a fun Easter theme.
If you haven’t heard of plyometrics, it’s a type of exercise designed to produce fast, powerful movements. It also helps improve the functions of the nervous system. It is also referred to as explosive exercises.
These activities will be particularly useful if you’re looking for ways to help your kids come down from their sugar highs from all those goodies the Easter bunny left behind.
And as always, make sure everyone has gone through a good warm up before doing these exercises. For great ideas on how to warm up, refer to the ‘Also Read’ section below.
Bunny Hop
This is probably best to do outside, or where there is plenty of room and no risk of running into something. The Bunny Hop is a spin off of a plyometrics exercise. While standing, you jump forward several times, covering 20-30 yards.
To make this fun with the kids and family, tell them to jump like a ‘bunny’ to the finish line.
Fill The Easter Basket Race
This fun little game will require a little bit of set up, but not much. The objective of the game is to fill up your basket with the most eggs first.
Set up: Again, this is best in an open area. At one end you will place a bowl of eggs for each player. For example, each bowl will have 7 eggs each. About 10-15 yards away, set up each players easter basket.
To start: Have the kids stand by their empty basket. When the whistle blows, they will run to the other end where the eggs are, and are only allowed to grab one egg per trip. They must run back and forth until their basket is full with the designated amount of eggs in it. So if there are seven eggs they will have to run back and forth seven times.
Egg Relay
Just like in a relay race, you will have teams running against each other, but instead of a baton, you’ll use an egg and spoon.
Set up: Depending on how much room you have, you many need to get creative. If you live in a residential area with a sidewalk, you may be able to set it up there. If you have a smaller area, you can make them run to one end of the yard and back for each round of the relay. Also, the number of participants you have will determine how many players are on each team.
To start: The first runners will be holding a spoon with an egg on it and must run it to the next person and hand them the spoon and the egg. This process continues to the last person until the race is completed.
To add to the excitement you can either have adults and children play together or you can separate it into different age groups, so the kids can root for the adults and vice versa. Either way, have fun and enjoy spending time together!
Also Read:
A Beginner’s Guide to Plyometrics