Fun and Games - Get Fit With Play



Why use games in your fitness training?

I’ve been incorporating games in my Personal Training for years, because guess what? Everyone needs to have some FUN! As adults we don’t get enough opportunities to just play. Some people get bored of lifting weights, especially for those who are training multiple times per week.

Here are a few reasons why you should incorporate games into your workouts:


– They provide variety and uniqueness to the workout

– The session will go by quickly for the client.

– It will push clients harder.

– Clients get a chance to PLAY.

– Have FUN while getting fit at the same time.


If you haven’t tried using games in your sessions with clients try a card game. It’s simple; just pick two upper body exercises for red suits, two lower body exercises for black suits and a core or cardio move for an Ace. You can play with Jokers and make them burpees or an extra special exercise. The number on the card equals the number of repetitions you do. Simplify face cards (Jacks, Queens and Kings) to all be 10 repetitions. Set a timer for 20 minutes and see how many cards client can get through in that amount of time. For partner sessions, compete to see who can get more cards in allotted time.


Have Fun!

AUTHOR- Amanda Fontaine is considered the Chief FUN Officer of Personal Training and Health/Fitness. She's a Personal Trainer at Empower and Founder of Thrive Alive. She specializes in creating FUN, creative yet challenging workouts for her clients and promoting a lifestyle of play for adults.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WHY- 7 Layers Deep

Image
When we need to find motivation for change We Start by Digging Deep Into Our WHY We all have struggles in reaching our goals, but without knowing WHY we have them it’s easy to slip and get off track. This exercise is called “LOOKING 7 LEVELS DEEP” and here’s what you do: Write down the #1 reason why you have this goal ___________________________ Then LOOK ANOTHER LEVEL DEEPER and ask yourself why that #1 reason is important to you? Then go even 5 more levels deep until you’ve asked yourself WHY to your previous answer 7 Levels deep. Once you have THE FINAL 7th level WHY, please share it with me so I can keep you accountable. Here is an example of how to go 7 levels deep: I want to lose 10 lbs I want to lose 10 lbs because I feel unhealthy I don’t want to feel unhealthy because I’d like to have more energy for my partner & job. I’d like to have more energy for my partner and job because I’m missing out on spending quality time with him/her ...
Read more

FUN Partner Workout

Image
Working out is always better with a buddy, so grab a friend and sweat together. *For this workout you will need a TRX suspension trainer, but I have included a substitution if you do not have one at your gym. Instructions : One partner will be doing a HOLD while the other does REPS. Start with 1 REP and then 2, up to 6. Example : Partner A does 1 TRX Row (while the other is holding). Then Partner B does 1 TRX Row (while partner A is holding). Partner A does 2 Rows, then Partner B 2 Rows, etc. Keep alternating back and forth until you get to 6. Exercise 1: TRX Rows (or supermans laying on mat)/ Row HOLD Exercise 2: Squats (squat jump for advanced option)/ Squat HOLD Exercise 3: TRX Pushup (Or regular pushups on ground)/ Pushup HOLD Exercise 4: V ups/Boat pose HOLD Exercise 5: Bridges/ Bridge HOLD Second time around you can start with 6 REPS of each and go down to 1. ***THRIVE on!*** AUTHOR: Amanda Fontaine is considered th...
Read more

Consistency + Motivation = Results

Image
This year I trained for my first national competition called CG Games (Camp Gladiator). Not only did I have to be strong, and agile but have endurance, and speed as well. There are 5 events: strength, agility, endurance, interval and peak (which was an obstacle course). It took months of training leading up to nationals to really see a difference in my strength and speed and that’s what I want to teach you- that consistent action over time is what gets results . You cannot expect to workout one day and wake up the next morning with your body looking different. You cannot choose to eat right one day and expect to lose weight. It takes consistent action over time. They key is consistent! You have to be patient and one day you will see a difference. Also, in order to reach your goals you have to know your WHY, your motivation for change. I learned a big lesson in this but once I got mine I remembered it in the hard times. I remembered it when I woke up at 5 in the morning a...
Read more