Especially after being grounded for so long, now is a good time to achieve a healthy mind and body. Instead of trying to bring more balance to your active life all by yourself, why not involve your family and change the dynamic of your basic training sessions. When you work out and train as a family, it can go a long way in cementing life-long lessons, good health and memories.
But if you’ve never worked out as a family before, trying to get them to work out with you might require a little bit of convincing. Take a stab at Chinese Martial Arts- rather different than ordinary workout routines, martial arts helps to strengthen your body’s muscular core and shifts you into a balanced state of mind. And if you have never done martial arts before, don’t worry, we’ll get you started with some beginner’s tips.
Benefits of working out as a family
- Goodbye to inactivity- With the technological take-over in many households, it may not be as easy to get rid of the inactive habits of watching TV , playing video games, web browsing and social media. Working out together increases quality time, builds better relationships and gets more interaction flowing between young and old.
- Optimistic outlook on life- Be it low contact or combative training like Qi Gong and kick boxing, there are values and goals that are laden in each lesson and training session. Your kids can build better concentration, be more goal-oriented and enjoy learning as they realise the essence of discipline.
- Stress Relief- For parents and children, there are different factors that induce stress and anxiety in their daily lives. The world as we know it has recently changed. This could hold a series of anxiety and stress triggers. With working out, you can ensure a healthy body, mind and reduce chances of ill-health! Have a look at the classes we offer to guide you.
A healthy mind makes for a healthy life
Building a healthy mind and sustaining it comes with great responsibility. While we have a series of videos that demonstrate the classes we offer to help you keep a good state of mind, here are additional exercises to help you with that.
- Running- The Frontiers Psychology Journal found that running provides a calming effect, given the runner’s pace. This, in turn also helps facilitate mood regulation. Running also helps you to regulate your breathing, it slows you down and gives you control of how fast or slow you want to go at it. Dust off those running shoes and see for yourself!
- Breathing exercises- A great martial arts style to aid in better breathing and balance of the mind is Tai Chi. It is a form of martial arts style comprising a series of movements that are performed in a focused, meditative and gentle manner. It also accompanies deep breathing methods that help with a variety of health conditions. Check out our website for the Tai Chi classes we offer!
- Core fitness training – While focusing on building a healthier body, it is just as important to make sure your mind is in the same state too. Strengthen your mind by trying core fitness training to achieve a healthy mind-body balance. Our website can guide you on how to go about it.
- Fostering healthy habits together- At SMA Centre, we’re all for staying in shape. Another element that is of paramount importance in this regard is eating healthy! This can be fun for the whole family. Incorporate different meal plans throughout the week and have your kids draw up schedules as a way of teaching them how to manage parts of their lives. This is key as it also forms part of their education.
How to make your home training innovative: Make do with what you have!
Jump onto your fitness training with a creative approach. Everyone can take part in making sure that they enjoy their fitness journey Bring more life into working out and incorporate a dash of difference in your daily workout routines!
- Music to bring rhythm into training- Not only does music remove boredom from your workout routine, but it also improves your performance and helps you enjoy it. For every workout, there are sounds that can help you relish in getting into shape. Studies have shown that incorporating music can help bring a positive change to hormones, doing away with any imbalance, which will help boost you into a better mood. For some ideas, check out our Facebook page and add some rhythm to your routines!
- Zoom classes- While we’re unavailable for classes, our instructors have given tools to make sure there are no excuses when you must keep your health in top form. With the use of the weekly videos from our instructors, you can go the extra mile and take it to zoom with some of your classmates. Make the experience feel like you never stopped going for your classes. Our class schedules are mapped out, just have a look at which one is up your alley.
- Outdoor obstacle challenges- The whole family can join in and make training memorable. Gear up for obstacles courses outside to help you get your form right while making sure you still stick to your workout. Take this a step further and nominate some of your classmates so they can also have fun with their fitness regime.
- Alternate instructors- Try and change things up by nominating members of the family to lead the workout routines. That way, you all get to be original and creative as you want with the sessions. Break away from doing things the same way and let everyone play their part in training. Not only do you get to learn from each other, but you get to prove to yourself, just how can take charge of your fitness.
- Create challenges – 2020 is the year for challenges! Now this is your chance to bring it into your fitness journey. From something as simple as the skip rope challenge or the push up challenge; as a family each of you can decide on challenges that will push you to meet your fitness goals. Recording the challenges and checking your “before” and “after” pictures, is a great way to motivate yourself and your family, while tracking of your progress. Why not share these challenges with the other students and let them pass it on too?
- Outdoor meditation- You can get your family to try out meditation and help them experience the tranquility that comes with it. You do not have to keep it indoors all the time, try meditating outside and soothe your mind as you bask in the exterior setting.
Fitness goals for the long haul
Investing in good health is a life-long commitment. Sure, while the training sessions are great, they also call for us to keep the same discipline, even when we are not around one another. Make this experience worthwhile for yourself and your family by pushing the boundaries. Here are some ways to keep your workout experiences interesting, for everyone:
- Research- Our Facebook page has exciting updates on how you can stay in tip-top shape!
- Change core focus- For each of the workouts you partake in, ascertain that all parts of your body get fit.
- Martial arts student- Use different days to work on techniques, forms and basics that need you have been meaning to polish up. We have you sorted on our website!
- Sharing ideas with family and friends- Head on over to our website and join us to see how you can broaden the variety of your workout sessions.
- Inclusion of all fitness needs -Structure the workouts to suit everyone’s strengths, physical abilities and how far they are willing to go. That way, the whole family can join in and get in shape. Look at the array of martial arts styles we offer in our classes and see how you can make getting fit, fulfilling for everyone!
Join the SMA Centre
We are here to make sure all your fitness needs are met and exceeded. Check us out on Facebook and on our website- see what speaks to your fitness journey. We believe in development of self and growth as a team, while living by the values that come with the Chinese martial arts. We still take bookings for online classes so feel free to contact us. Let us commit to building healthy minds and bodies, together. We are here for you!