Family-friendly fall workouts for busy parents

Under normal circumstances, staying active during fall can be something of a challenge. It’s hibernation season, after all. There are fewer hours of daylight. The cooler weather means you’re more likely to be found curling up with a warm beverage than warming up with some bicep curls. And for busy parents, well, there’s the added stress of carting the kids off to school and a range of extracurriculars, all while managing your own work schedule. Carving out time for a workout? No, thanks.

And on top of all that, it’s 2020. These, of course, are hardly normal circumstances. Thanks to the global pandemic, many of us are spending our hours working remotely while juggling our kids’ virtual learning schedules, with little time left over for physical activity.

That said, the best relief for our elevated levels of stress might be getting the blood pumping, even as the days get shorter and the air gets colder. Indeed, as the weather swings from crisp-and-perfect-for-being-outside to kind-of-cold and back again, parents need a range of exercise strategies for themselves and their families that will work outdoors and in.

Here to help: Aaptiv, an award winning mobile fitness app. (For eligible Haven Life customers,you can take advantage of Aaptiv for no cost through the Haven Life Plus rider). Aaptiv has a wide range of workouts for parents to do on their own or with their children, inside or out. Here are our nine favorite workouts, perfect for autumn:

If you’re alone…

Exercise can play different roles in a person’s life. You might do it because you want to feel better, or look better — or, in these times of quarantine-with-the-family, exercise could be your way of having alone time. To that end, Aaptiv has numerous workouts that encourage you to focus on the task at hand and shut out everything (and everyone) else, at least for a while.

In 20 Minutes with Bodyweight by John, you’ll build strength and learn foundational movements during a low-impact workout. You’ll also get 20 minutes to yourself. If 20 minutes feels like an implausible amount of time off, Bodyweight Blast by Amanda will get your heart rate up and help you tone muscles in less than half that time. This workout is designed to be done anywhere, so feel free to take it outdoors if the weather is nice.

If you want something more meditative, Caesar has you covered with Walking Relief. It’s a longish outdoor walk (the exact time is up to you) during which you’ll use various breathing techniques to help relieve stress as you reflect (calmly) on things.

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If you’re with your family…

… and outside

Due to Covid, when parks and playgrounds are often closed, many of us are missing time outdoors, and that’s especially true for children. Family Walk In Nature and Strolling With My Family are two different walks from Jaime, both of which involve games that encourage your kids to notice the things in the world outside, whether “outside” means the woods or just a walk around your neighborhood. Both walks are between six and ten minutes, so they’re ideal for busy parents or cold days when the kids want to be outside, but not for too long.

… and inside

As fall turns to winter, there may be days when the great outdoors no longer seem so, well, great. On those occasions, Amanda’s Family Fun Energy Booster and Jamie’s Family Fitness Challenge are great ways to help your kids let loose in a controlled, productive way, while providing an activity the whole family can do together (no equipment is involved). Both workouts guide your crew through a series of body weight strength exercises and heart-pumping activities like jumping jacks. Try to remember: jumping jacks feel like punishment for adults, but kids think they’re fun.

If you’re alone or with your family…

Aaptiv recently launched video workouts, which can be great if you want to do a workout which requires some precision, such as yoga. In Get Your Flow On, Jess guides you through a daily 22-minute yoga session, both narrating and demonstrating the poses. By doing her class on video, you get the privacy you can’t find in a normal yoga class (even if you hide at the back), and you can also pause and rewind in order to really get your poses down.

Another benefit of video is the extra layer of motivation you get from seeing someone sweating in front of you (safely on a screen, or course). In Let it Out! Casey takes you through a 12-minute bodyweight cardio workout that includes boxing, footwork, and quick movements to raise your heart rate and get your metabolism moving. Extra helpful when you’re dealing with a season known for large meals and small (but massive quantities of) candy.