Fun Games that Improve Fitness

I believe it's accurate to say that any type of mindful movement that you enjoy and that doesn't consistently leave you injured is good for your health. These are two significant qualifiers - enjoying what you do and avoiding unnecessary injury.

Bring a group of kids together at a park without any equipment and chances are good that they will begin playing tag. If you can't remember the last time you played tag with family or friends, perhaps you're overdue for a few rounds.

If you want to play a version of tag that is especially effective for improving footwork, you can use a breakaway belt as shown in the Instagram post here:

Why do most of us stop playing tag when we grow up? It provides endless fun and is health-enhancing in countless ways. To play a version that is all about footwork, thus neutralizing the reach advantage of those with especially long arms, try tethering yourself to your partner with fabric or a rope lined with a bit of Velcro. One person tries to get far enough away to break the tether, while the other does everything possible to stay close enough to keep the tether in tact. For higher intensity and more laughter, keep the tether relatively short - about six to eight feet works well. And set boundaries so that the game promotes quick changes in direction rather than a long mad sprint in one direction. #BeQuick #HaveFun #Tag #PlayTag #Fitness #Reaction #BreakawayBelt

A video posted by Ben Kim (@dr.ben.kim) on Mar 21, 2016 at 6:57am PDT

If you're curious to know, the breakaway belt that we have long used is called a SKLZ Reaction Breakaway Belt - it comes with two belts and three tethers of varying length. The yellow one that we used here is 4 feet long. When attaching the two parts of the tether by their Velcro ends, be sure that the two sides come together like your hands would to pray - otherwise, it is near impossible for the person trying to get away to break the point of attachment.

When the same group of kids at the park grow tired of playing tag, I'm willing to bet a green smoothie that they'll start racing from point A to point B. A couple of years ago when our older son would finish up two long hours of high level tennis training with a close friend, without fail, the two of them would have an impromptu sprinting race to where the parents were waiting, all while carrying their tennis bags and water bottles. As far as I've observed, living creatures with legs yearn to move, be it via a relaxing stroll, a merry skip, a joyful gallop, or a full out dash to an exhilarating finish.

To add additional fun to footraces, sometimes, we'll put on our resistance parachutes and do short wind sprints until one of us cries uncle:

Looking for a way to add an extra layer of fun to sprinting races? You might try using parachutes. I haven't met a person yet who doesn't want to try one after seeing it in action. To develop optimal accelerating technique, start on the ground before the gun goes off. Give your children a head start and they'll want to do these all night long. #sprint #race #makeitfun #keepitfun #fitness #grateful #keepmoving

A video posted by Ben Kim (@dr.ben.kim) on Mar 19, 2016 at 6:12pm PDT

Here's a link to the parachutes that we have long used indoors and outdoors:

SKLZ Speed Resistance Training Parachute

And a fun game that you can play with limited space requires a broomstick or tube that you and your partner take turns nudging in random directions - the goal is for the retrieving partner to catch the stick or tube close to its top before it hits the ground. You can challenge yourself further by aiming to catch the tube as close to the ground as possible, and also ending in a deep squat with the leg that is on the side of the arm catching the tube - thank you Coach Darren for sharing these suggestions!

We had some fun with this tube game this evening. The objective is to catch the tube by its top before it hits the ground. You can do this with a broomstick or even with a pool noodle if you're playing with little ones or those who aren't as quick as they used to be. You and your partner take turns gently nudging the tube in random directions to help each other develop reaction time, balance, hand-eye coordination, and mobility. #games #fun #balance #reactiontime #developing

A video posted by Ben Kim (@dr.ben.kim) on Mar 18, 2016 at 7:54pm PDT

As mentioned under this post at Instagram, if reaction time is an issue, say with little ones or those who aren't as quick as they used to be, you can use a pool noodle instead of a hard tube or broomstick.

If you have an Instagram account and don't mind sharing some of your favorite games that encourage healthy movement, I would appreciate you posting and tagging with my Instagram ID, as I love learning new games. I have several more than we do regularly that I'll aim to record and share in the days ahead, so please feel free to connect with my Instagram account here:

dr.ben.kim @ Instagram

For videos that are longer than 15 seconds, which is the maximum allowable video length at Instagram, I'll be posting to our YouTube channel, so if you're interested and aren't already subscribed to our YouTube channel, you can click the subscribe button to our video library here:

drbenkim @ YouTube