Being active can help improve your overall health, support your weight loss and boost your body confidence – and there are more ways than you might realise to squeeze exercise into your daily routine. As lockdown rules continue to ease and outdoor leisure facilities reopen across the UK, family day trips are back on the cards, bringing with them lots of opportunities to sneak in activity and have fun while you’re doing it.
Whether you’re exploring the sights, thrill-seeking at a theme park or racing around an adventure centre, an action-filled day out can pack in plenty of Body Magic and help you start reaping the rewards of moving more. Take a look at how our members are making the most of their days out…
MORE ON THE BLOG: What is Slimming World Body Magic?
Give water sports a whirl
Windsurfing, kayaking, rowing, or even a ride in a pedalo… there are loads of water-based activities to help you make a splash on your Body Magic journey. Check out what’s on offer at your nearest water sports centre, and you’re likely to find something the whole family can enjoy.
Losing weight has given Momo (@momoswjourney) the confidence to try kayaking. She says: “I have always considered myself to be quite an adventurous person, but I’ve realised that my weight stopped me from doing adventurous activities for the past few years! Here is a photo of me, 6st 5lbs down, having a great time kayaking and canoeing! And guess what? No one laughed at me and I enjoyed every minute of it!”
Check out the countryside
Walking is one of the best ways to be active. It’s free, you don’t need any special equipment and you can do it pretty much anywhere. Taking a brisk stroll around a country park, nature trail or historical landmarks can give you a refreshing change of scenery – especially if, like me, you’ve exhausted every route around your local area. Plus, you can take a football with you for a kickabout with the kids and get an extra workout.
MORE ON THE BLOG: How to remove your Body Magic barriers
Play around with Body Magic
You don’t have to travel far for an activity-packed day out. Local parks are brilliant for a fitness boost in the fresh air. Pushing your children high on the swings, scaling climbing frames and bouncing on a seesaw will give your legs and arm muscles a great workout as Natalie (@sw.nataliejakings) discovered.
Go wild at the zoo
A full day exploring a zoo, safari or farm park can help you build up your step count – and pushing a stroller or carrying a cooler bag full of Food Optimising picnic food is great for strengthening extra muscles without even realising.
Try a new sport
Do you live near an outdoor tennis court, golf course, football pitch or skatepark? Then you have a great way to get active. Challenging your fitness buddy to a friendly match of your favourite sport, like Judit (@sw.eat.slim.judit), will give you a fix of fitness and plenty of mood-boosting fresh air.
Pick up your favourite fruits
The start of spring brings a fresh crop of delicious fruits and veg coming into season. A day trip to a fruit picking farm gives you the chance to boost your activity levels while you stock up on Free Foods for your Food Optimising meals. Pushing a wheelbarrow and carrying a basket brimming with fresh produce will give your arms some action, too!
MORE ON THE BLOG: Our members are loving park life!
Jump around with the kids
While indoor trampoline parks will remain closed for a little while longer, some local parks have built-in trampolines and you may even have an outdoor centre near you. Challenging your family to see who can jump the highest can definitely help to get your heart beating faster, and it’ll give your bones, joints and muscles a workout.
Being able to jump on a trampoline with his family was Dann’s (@danny_mann_sw_lifestyle) motivation for starting his slimming journey, and now he’s jumping for joy after losing 10st 8½lbs. He says: “Believe it or not, same guy in both pictures just 1 year apart!!!! I made it my mission to reach target weight before I was stood on the trampoline in that park again and this is proof I made it.”
Brave a tree-top adventure
If you’re looking to pack maximum activity into your day, a visit to an outdoor adventure centre ticks all the boxes. There’s something to suit all ages and activity levels, from zip wires and challenging obstacles to rope walkways and bounce nets. Lily (@lilyann_sw) swung by an outdoor adventure centre recently and smashed her Body Magic goal for the day.
MORE FOR MEMBERS: Slimming World members will find activity ideas to suit every ability level on the exclusive member website, including exercises you can start today, handy how-to guides and thought-provoking insights into why moving more can bring with it a world of benefits!
Find out more about joining Slimming World here.