“40 Fun Ways to Be Physically Active,” New Era, May 2015, 32–34

40 Fun Ways to be physically Active

Fitness is not just for athletes.

Is spending quality time with the couch your fallback plan on those days when you have some downtime? Playing video games, watching a cool show, texting your friends—all that can be fun, but sitting around the whole evening not really doing much makes you feel blah.

What if you want to be more physically active, but organized sports and hitting the gym aren’t your thing? Good news! You don’t have to be an Olympic sprinter or a champion bodybuilder to be active. There are fun, creative activities all around you that don’t require you to be an athlete to enjoy. So step away from the couch and make some awesome memories! Here are 40 fun activities that are too fun not to try.

On Your Own

Be a tourist—in your own hometown! Walk around your neighborhood and explore places you’ve never been before. Take pictures of the cool things you see.
Master a new skill! Perfect a swan dive. Try a new trick on a skateboard, figure out how to ride a unicycle, or learn a new gymnastics move.
Learn a traditional dance from another country, like the Japanese bon odori dance, the Hawaiian hula, or the Russian tropak.
Build something for your home, like a bird feeder or a bookshelf.
Walk or ride your bike someplace you usually drive.

With a Group

Play broomball—it’s like hockey but with brooms and a ball.
Organize a photo scavenger hunt with your friends or Mutual group. Then race on foot to see which team can get them the fastest.
Play group games: kick-the-can, red rover, hide-and-seek, sardines, capture the flag, etc.
Play classic tag and then freeze tag, snake tag, reverse tag, even friendship tag.
Join a local recreational league.
Have a ball playing kickball! Use kiddie pools as bases and a slip-n-slide to splash into home.
Make treasure hunts for each other by writing clues on sticky notes and placing them around your house, yard, or neighborhood.
Do an activity scavenger hunt of things each team has to do, like singing a specific song to a stranger, blowing a bubblegum bubble, or finding a common last name at a cemetery.
Break out your best beats and host a 30-minute dance party.
Pull out your old jump ropes and challenge your friends to see who can learn the coolest trick.

With Your Family

Turn your yard or nearby park into an obstacle course for you and your siblings: hula-hoop 10 times, run to the tree, do five cartwheels, go down the slide, crab-walk to the swings, etc.
Make up your own sport!
Build a fort out of blankets and boxes for an indoor bunker.
Play charades backwards—one person guesses while the rest of your family acts out the clue.
Lend a hand with household projects. Stain a fence or deck, paint a wall, re-caulk a shower, or help with another project.
Learn a game from another culture and teach it to your family. You could start with Ampe, a game from Ghana, or Di Bi Di Bi Dip, a Korean game.

Seasonal Activities

Have a water balloon fight or a snowball fight.
Go fruit picking and make a pie together.
Hike to a waterfall.
Build a sand castle or a snow fort.
Plant a garden and take care of it.
Go swimming. Learn how to dive, try out different strokes, or play pool games like sharks and minnows.

Indoors

Find videos of yoga, aerobic kickboxing, or other fitness activities that you like, and follow along at home.
Rearrange the furniture!
Stretch a little while you’re reading a novel or playing video games, or lift weights while watching TV.
Make bread by hand.
Go to a museum.
Dance to your favorite music while you do your chores.
Race your friends up the stairs instead of taking the elevator.
Take up ballroom, country swing, folk, or another style of dance.

Service

Help someone in your neighborhood with their yard, or go pick up trash at a park.
Organize a mini Olympics for the kids in your neighborhood!
Volunteer to take your neighbor’s dog for a walk, or visit your local animal shelter or humane society.
Help build stuff in your community, such as a new play area in a park or school nearby.
Participate in a local fund-raising run.

Why would physical health matter to Heavenly Father? Isn’t He the one who “looketh on the heart,” not the physical stature (see 1 Samuel 16:7)?

Though God doesn’t look on our appearance, our bodies are gifts from Him, and we should take care of them. Some blessings of good physical health are:

Better concentration and ability in school.
More ability to do your favorite hobbies.
Good mission preparation—if you’re not in good health, you can’t go! And remember, missionaries walk or bike a lot.
Preparation for parenthood. Do you want to be a parent who can actually run around with your kids? Stay healthy.
Increased sensitivity to the Spirit.
Greater ability to make choices. While some think the Word of Wisdom is restrictive, it actually helps you make wise choices by keeping you in control of your thoughts and actions rather than impaired by drugs or alcohol.

For the Strength of Youth says: “Eat nutritious food, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep. Practice balance and moderation in all aspects of your physical health” ([2011], 25). Don’t go to extremes—either too much or too little of good things. “Seek healthy solutions to problems. Do all you can to safeguard your physical and emotional health so that you can fulfill your divine potential” (27).