The Ultimate Race

Train for your race!

Getting started

Help your family to be active this week with three fun sessions:

  • Involve everyone – anyone can lead!
  • Adapt for your family
  • Encourage each other
  • Challenge yourselves
  • Don’t exercise if it causes pain

Share family.fit with others:

  • Post a photo or video on social media and tag with #familyfit or @familyfitnessfaithfun
  • Do family.fit with another family
Warm up 512

Day 1: Warm-up

Bear shoulder taps

Get down on hands and knees facing a partner. Try to touch your partner’s shoulder with your hand while keeping your ‘bear’ position. Play until someone reaches 11 shoulder taps.

Play Video

Rest and talk together.

When did you train hard for something? What was it like?

Go deeper: What motivates people to train really hard?

Move 512

Day 1: Move

Mountain-climbers

mountain climber process 900

Put hands and feet on the ground and keep your whole body straight like a plank. Move one knee up towards your elbows and then move foot back to the starting position. Repeat with other leg.

Play Video

Do 30 repetitions. Build speed and fluency.

Go harder: Complete two rounds.

Challenge 512

Day 1: Challenge

Drawing lots

Place at least 10 pieces of paper in a container, each with a different task written on it: 10 sit-ups, 5 push-ups, 15 jumping jacks, hug each person, ‘high five’ each person, get a glass of water for each person, 20 seconds of high knees, 20 seconds of plank, 15 seconds of superman.

Take turns to draw lots and do the task on it. You can choose to help another person with their task, and you can also choose to draw lots more than once if you want an extra challenge.

Do three rounds.

Play Video
Explore 512

Day 1: Explore

Train for your race

Read 1 Corinthians 9:25-26 from the Bible.

Paul continues to teach us about life using the metaphor of an athlete. This week is all about training! We shouldn’t go through life aimlessly, but rather start training in order to win the prize at the end of the race.

Followers of Jesus are running in a race called ‘life’.

Why is training important in a race?

Work together to come up with a list of ways that help us train as followers of Jesus. Write each of these on separate pieces of paper and spread them around your house/yard in a course layout. Take turns to run the course calling out each ‘way’ as you pass over it.

Chat to God: Move to the piece of paper where you need to improve your training. Get into the starting race position and spend some time asking God to help you to grow in this. Run the course together to finish.

Play 512

Day 1: Play

Keep the ball moving

The challenge is to move a small ball from one side of the room or yard to the other without touching it. You will have to work together to succeed.

Each person holds a piece of folded cardboard or a sturdy magazine for the ball to travel along. Line up and overlap your magazines so that the ball can roll down them. Start the ball rolling. When the ball passes your magazine run to the front of the line to get ready to receive the ball again. Always keep the ball moving down the magazines. Have fun trying.

Play Video

Reflect: What helped you succeed?

Health tip for living long

Walk as much as possible.

Warm up 512

Day 2: Warm-up

Running on hot lava

Spread out around a space. Select a leader. When the leader says “hot lava” everyone runs on the spot as fast as they can. When the leader says “stop” everyone does squats. Repeat until everyone is breathing heavily.

Play Video

Rest and talk together.

On a scale of 1-10, rate yourself on how well you complete the tasks you commit to.

Go deeper: What are some of the reasons why people give up?

Move 512

Day 2: Move

Mountain-climbers tap-out

mountain climber process 900

Do 10 mountain-climbers and tap out to the next person. Continue until you have completed 100 as a family.

Play Video

Go easier: Do five and then tap out to the next person.

Go harder: Set 150 or 200 as your target.

Challenge 512

Day 2: Challenge

Sit-up challenge

sit up process 900

Sit in a circle facing each other. Do 50 sit-ups as a family. One person starts and taps out to the next person when they need a break.

After 50 sit-ups, run as a family to a marker and back. Run to the pace of the slowest runner. Then start sit-ups again.

Do three rounds of 50.

Play Video
Explore 512

Day 2: Explore

Training takes discipline

Read 1 Corinthians 9:25-26 again.

Make up some actions and recite the verses together.

What does it feel like to be aimless?

What helps training to be effective?

Training takes discipline. Encouraging each other helps.

Make up a family ‘war cry’ that states your commitment to training hard for Jesus. Talk about the term ‘strict training’ and what it means for your life as a follower of Jesus.

Chat to God: Gather into a family team huddle, recite your war cry, and then pray for each other to grow in commitment and discipline.

The sprints

Wilma Rudolph was a champion sprinter who trained hard to overcome every obstacle she faced.

She was born prematurely in an African American family in the 1940s. With 20 brothers and sisters, there were few resources to help her become a champion runner. As a child she contracted polio and had to wear leg braces. However, she had incredible determination. She overcame polio at 12, surprising the doctors, and started to walk again. To get stronger, she took up athletics. Amazingly, eight years later she went to the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and won three gold medals! Wilma showed that keeping her mind focused on the prize is great motivation for training.

“The triumph can’t be had without the struggle!” she said.

Play Video

How does this story inspire you to run your own race?

What can your family learn from this?

Play 512

Day 2: Play

The great paper competition

Give everyone a piece of paper. Write what takes away your joy on it. Use the paper for three different competitions.

  1. Make a paper airplane and fly it the furthest. Give points to each person.
  2. Screw up the paper plane into a ball. Each person throws all the balls into a bucket five meters away. See who can get highest total.
  3. Try to juggle the most paper balls. Start with one, then two and so on.

Who has the highest overall score?

Health tip for living long

Walk as much as possible. Schedule walking into your regular day. What creative ways can you do this? Don’t always take the car or bus.

Warm up 512

Day 3: Warm-up

Bear and crab walk

Bear walk across the room and crab walk back. Do five laps.

Bear walk – Walk face down with feet and hands on the floor.

Crab walk – Walk face up with feet and hands on the floor.

Play Video

Rest and talk together.

What prizes have you won? Do you still have them?

Go deeper: Which prize means the most to you? Why?

Move 512

Day 3: Move

Twisted mountain-climbers

Perform 10 ‘twisted’ mountain-climbers. Try and reach the right knee toward the left arm, and then the left knee toward the right arm. Start slowly, then increase speed and fluency.

Do three rounds.

Go harder: Increase the number of rounds or do the mountain-climbers faster.

Challenge 512

Day 3: Challenge

Global mountain-climber challenge

mountain climber process 900

How many mountain-climbers can your family do in 90 seconds?

Each family member does as many mountain-climbers as they can in 90 seconds. Combine the scores for the family total.

CLICK HERE to input your family score.

CLICK HERE to look at the weekly leaderboard to see your country’s progress.

Which nation will be our family.fit champions?

Explore 512

Day 3: Explore

Train for the eternal prize

Read 1 Corinthians 9:25-26. Add actions.

What is the prize Paul talks about that will last forever?

Each person thinks of a ‘following Jesus training strategy’ for the next 7 days. For example, pray every morning. Write it on a chart. See who can do the strategy every day. Plan a prize for each person.

Chat to God: Think about people you know who are struggling to be followers of Jesus. Stand in a circle with your right hands on top of each other in the center as you pray for each person. When the top hand slaps the pile, shout AMEN.

Play 512

Day 3: Play

Around the world table tennis

Stand around a table. One person hits a ball over a “net” and another person returns it. Keep moving so that each person has a turn – pass the bat to the next in line. Try to make 10 consecutive hits as a family, then 20.

Notes: Use creativity! Instead of rackets use plastic lids / plates or flip flops. Instead of a net you can use books or toilet paper rolls.

Play Video

Tip for parents

Help kids learn to be active every day. Play outside. Play with them because they love you to be involved too. Go exploring together. Take healthy snacks for the journey.

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The family.fit team