The Ultimate Race

Focus your mind!

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

Drop to the ground

Run around the room or yard as you do this activity.

One person is the leader. When the leader shouts out a body part such as elbow, knee, back, or ear, everyone must put that body part on the ground.

Play Video

Rest and talk together.

When did someone tell you something you knew wasn’t true? What did you do?

Go deeper: When have you been caught up in a lie?

Move 512

Day 1: Move

Chair dips

dip process 900

Dip on a chair by supporting your weight on your arms. Keep feet on the floor.

Play Video

Do 5-10 repetitions and rest. Repeat.

Go harder: Increase the number of repetitions.

Challenge 512

Day 1: Challenge

Sprint competition

Everyone stands on a starting line. One person shouts ‘go’ and the family sprints for 10 seconds until the leader shouts ‘stop’. Everyone stops where they are. Not everyone will have run the same distance – that’s okay.

Rest, then turn around and face the starting line. When the leader shouts ‘go’, everyone runs back again. The first across the line wins.

Explore 512

Day 1: Explore

Truth or lies?

Read Philippians 4:8 from the Bible.

Our minds are very powerful. The Apostle Paul encourages us to be careful what we allow our minds to focus on. He reminds us to fill our minds with things that are good and positive. This is a challenge we all need to work on in our race!

Fill a glass half-way with water. Ask each person to describe how much water is in the cup. Half full or half empty? (Both are true.)

Paul encourages us to check what we are thinking about. We often get caught up in negative thinking, especially in hard times. Paul provides us with a list of things that please God to measure our thinking against.

What do your answers to the glass of water tell you about the way you think?

Discuss how you can be truthful and positive in your thinking.

Chat to God: Thank God that He showed us His truth through Jesus. Ask Him to help you discern the truth and think on things that please Him.

Play 512

Day 1: Play

Two truths and a lie!

Each person comes up with two true statements and one lie. Make sure the lie is believable and the truths are not obvious. Take turns to share your three statements. The family votes on which statement they think is a lie.

For younger children you may want to use a statement such as “I like ___” (fill in with two things they like and one they don’t).

Reflect: Was it hard to come up with a lie? Was there something new you learned about a family member?

Health tip for living long

Avoid snack food between meals.

Warm up 512

Day 2: Warm-up

Move to music

Put on some favorite music. Repeat these moves until the music ends:

  • 10 running on spot
  • 5 squats
  • 10 running on spot
  • 5 squats with hand clap above head
Play Video

Rest and talk together.

Tell of something you saw recently that was lovely.

Go deeper: When did you have a negative first impression of something but then realized it was actually good and lovely?

Move 512

Day 2: Move

Dips with leg raises

leg raises 900

Dip on a chair by supporting your weight on your arms. As you dip, extend one leg off the floor. Alternate legs.

Do 10 repetitions and rest. Repeat.

Play Video

Go harder: Increase the number of repetitions.

Challenge 512

Day 2: Challenge

Fill the cup relay

Using a chair, each person does three dips and then runs to a marker to scoop water into a glass using a spoon. Tag the next person to continue. Keep going in a relay until the glass is full.

Three dips = one spoon.

Play Video

Go harder: Increase the number of dips per spoonful.

Explore 512

Day 2: Explore

Focus on the lovely

Read Philippians 4:8.

Hold up a piece of paper with a small scribble in the center. What do you see? You can see the ugly scribble or you can see a paper full of potential.

Why are we drawn to focus on small imperfections? We need to learn to look below the surface to see what is lovely and wonderful, such as the goodness in someone’s character.

How can we look deeper than outside appearances and focus on inward character?

Chat to God: Collect natural objects such as stones or snail shells around your house and find something lovely about each of them. Thank God for the loveliness in each other.

Gymnastics

Fabian Hambüchen is a German gymnast who competed on the men’s horizontal bar. When he first competed at the 2004 Athens Olympics, he came 7th in the competition. He persevered throughout his 16-year career by refocusing his mind as he trained rather than concentrating on the negatives. He competed in gymnastics in each subsequent Olympics and improved his place in the horizontal bar competition each time. He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics, and, finally, a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

He said after receiving the gold medal that this was ‘a dream come true.’

He never stopped chasing his dream from the time he first competed in 2003.

Play Video

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

How can your family show courage and perseverance like Fabian Hambüchen?

Play 512

Day 2: Play

Memory game

This is a memory game. Each family member needs two pieces of paper. Draw the same object on both pages. Choose someone to guess for this round. Shuffle the pages so that everyone has two different pictures. Everyone stands randomly in a line holding their pictures. The guesser looks at everyone’s drawings then turns around while everyone changes their order and hides their drawings. The guesser then chooses one picture to reveal and must remember who is holding the matching picture. If incorrect, start again. If successful, play with a new guesser.

Play Video

Health tip for living long

Avoid snack food between meals.
Sometimes when we feel negative, we eat ‘comfort’ food to make us feel better. This habit often leads to weight gain and avoids dealing with the issues behind our painful thoughts.

Warm up 512

Day 3: Warm-up

Knee tag

Compete in pairs. Try to touch your opponent’s knees as many times as you can in 60 seconds while you protect your own with your hands and body position.

Change partners.

Play Video

Rest and talk together.

What do you admire about each person in your family?

Go deeper: What do you admire about yourself?

Move 512

Day 3: Move

Dips with leg raises

Dip on a chair by supporting your weight on your arms. As you dip, extend one leg off the floor. Alternate legs.

How many can you do in 30 seconds?

Repeat and try to increase your number.

Play Video

Go harder: Increase the time limit to 60 seconds.

Challenge 512

Day 3: Challenge

Global dip challenge

How many dips can your family do in 90 seconds?

Each family member does as many dips 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

What is worthy of praise?

Read Philippians 4:8.

Paul concludes his list with an instruction to focus on things that are worthy of praise.

Think about your birthday. How does it feel to be celebrated and appreciated on your special day?

What excellent or praiseworthy things can we be thinking about?

Jesus is worthy of praise. Together, make a list of things you can praise Jesus for.

Chat to God: Pray and thank God for people in your community who follow Jesus’ example. Make a card to thank them for their example to your community.

Play 512

Day 3: Play

Mime what you admire

On separate pieces of paper write at least one thing you admire about each person in your family. Perhaps they are a good student, a good football player, a good cook, always helping others, and so on. Put the papers in a basket.

Two people pick a paper from the basket and mime it. Others must guess what was admired and the person it referred to.

Reflect: How did you feel when you were the person being admired? Did you know it was you?

Tip for parents

Avoid snack food between meals. Provide healthy alternatives like fruit and vegetables. Model eating healthy food for your children.

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The family.fit team