How to Create an Outdoor Gym for the Entire Family

The National Health Service recommends that healthy kids get at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day. For adults, that recommendation is at least 30 minutes each day. But while your child may run around at school and you head to the gym to pump some iron, exercising as a family may offer even bigger benefits. As you spend time together and enjoy physical activity, you teach your kids that fitness can be fun—and a priority for all of you. That’s where an outdoor gym can really come in handy. Made in custom sizes to fit just about any type of yard, it’s a way to get your physical requirements in while offering quality time with your family, too. Here’s how.

Why an Outdoor Gym?

Play and physical activity go hand-in-hand when it comes to keeping kids healthy. If fitness isn’t also fun, they’ll quickly lose interest and you’ll lose the battle to TV or video games instead. BY installing your own play gym in your yard, you have quick and easy access to a structure that is as fun as it is useful. Whether it’s swinging on a swing or challenging themselves on a set of monkey bars, playgrounds encourage kids to exercise without the kids actually realizing they’re exercising.

Parental Play

While you might think that outdoor gyms are child’s play only, parents can get in on the action and fulfill their physical activity requirements there as well. By adding modular components that particularly suit taller frames and adults, the outdoor gym quickly becomes a family affair. Monkey bars can be used for pull-ups if high enough, and climbing up slides can make for excellent muscular training exercise. What’s more, your kids will love the fact that “go outside and play” becomes “let’s go outside and play” instead. You’ll have an easier time prying your children away from the TV if you promise to get in on the action as well, so lace up your shoes and head outside.

Perfect Components

One of the benefits of having your own outdoor gym is the fact that you get to customize each of the components to suit your family’s tastes and needs. If your kids are more into imaginative play, then your outdoor play equipment could include a climbing frame with the other components. If your little rascals are more interested in climbing and testing their skills that way, a climbing structure may be just what you need for your outdoor gym. As you choose the components for your family, your outdoor gym quickly becomes uniquely yours and perfect for your family’s needs in outdoor play.

Getting Involved

If you’re getting involved on the play side of an outdoor playground, get your kids excited by involving them in the choosing and designing of the gym or playground. By letting kids help choose the various components and measure the space, you’ll increase their desire to use the playground when it’s delivered and assembled. What better way to ensure that your kids keep fit and have fun than by making sure they’re involved in the design process? It just goes to show that play really can be a family affair when an outdoor gym is the ultimate goal.

Whether you have a small space or a large yard, utilizing a custom playground can help get your entire family more excited about physical activity. While swinging on bars and sliding down a slide may not seem like exercise, it does fulfill the NHS requirements of 60 minutes of activity each day. Make those minutes less about groaning and more about fun and you’ll find your kids are completely on board.