Tips For Having a Fitness Scavenger Hunt in Your Backyard
Holy cow! I went back to my boot camp class yesterday, and let’s just say it kicked my butt! I stopped going before the holidays, which were not kind to my waistline! Ideally, I should have kept up with some workouts at home, but instead I’ve been lazy for the last 4 months. Being that I was sore shortly after the workout, I vow to never let that happen again!
If you need an idea to get active in your own home with your family, consider hosting a fitness scavenger hunt! Whether this is a weekly activity with little ones or a fun afternoon backyard party idea, gather your favorite people and get fit together.
What is a Fitness Scavenger Hunt?
A fitness scavenger hunt combines physical activity with fun activities that can be done in your backyard. To host one in your backyard, you can do this in two different ways. The first way would be to assign different fitness “stations” in your backyard. The other option would be to treat it like an Easter egg hunt.
Fitness Stations
If you would like to set up various fitness stations, create signs and display them in easy to find areas of your outdoor space. Possible station ideas include:
- 25 jumping jacks
- 60 second plank
- 2 minutes of high knees
- Jog in place for 3 minutes
- 30 crunches
- 10 bicep curls
You could also use different fitness items to add variety to each station. For example, you could set up a hula hoop station, balance balls, resistance bands, or even light hand weights.
Hidden Egg Scavenger Hunt Ideas
If you would like to have participants “find” their fitness tasks, use plastic eggs to hide slips of paper with various activities inside. As guests find an egg, they open it and do the activity immediately. You could also set it up where every guest finds 10 different eggs and do all the exercises at the same time after finding them all. The first one to finish wins!
Add in Lawn Games
If available, you can set up outdoor lawn games as additional stations for your event. Lawn dice, giant Jenga, or even croquet can help add variety to the game. You can find all of those games at Target or Walmart. A can of spray paint can turn a grassy area into a tic-tac-toe game or a giant Twister game.
Don’t Forget to RUN
To make your backyard scavenger hunt an even better workout, have a requirement that everyone has to run or sprint while looking for items. This allows you to burn more calories and get in a better workout, regardless of how long you are in your backyard working on this exercise.
Designate a Game Captain
If you want to take your scavenger hunt more seriously, assign a game caption that can mark off which stations have been completed or which eggs were found. They can keep track of participants and make sure everyone finishes each task before starting the next one. Participants can form teams if they would like and show their team spirit through colors or mascots.
Fitness scavenger hunts are so fun because they are easy to do, do not require any money (except additional optional equipment or games), and can involve the entire family. Kids will have a great time doing this and it won’t feel as much like exercise for you. Get your family together for a fitness-inspired backyard game.