The Family That Punches Together…

By Chris Campbell

Moms and Dads, what do you do with your kids to interact with them, to see them exert themselves, to get them to lay down that Xbox or Ipad and to exercise something other than their thumbs?

Have you said, “Come on kids, we’re going for a walk” or “We’re hiking the Gorge this weekend” or “Let’s play some 1-on-1”?

How about making the household chores a bit more interesting and turning them into cardio-exercise events?

On small pieces of paper, write down chores and body weight exercises.

Throw the papers into a couple of hats and have everyone pick one of each.

Maybe Dad gets to clean the bathroom and do a set of squats every few minutes until he is finished, while one of the children cleans the kitchen and does forward lunges, etc.

The combinations are endless.

Mix it up with yard work, seasonal chores and even some aerobic components like jumping rope.

If you think glamorizing the chores would not fit your family, how about something that’s far more fun and, for most of us, a very different sort of activity?

How many families do you know that can say they box or kickbox together?

At TITLE Boxing Club, there are several such families.

When the first class is FREE, it makes the event even more fun and enjoyable for all.

In the positive, family-friendly environment of TITLE Boxing Club, all members of the clan will have their own 100-pound bag to punch and kick for an entire hour and will be coached, taught and encouraged by trained instructors.

The Power Hour – a trainer-led workout – combines aerobic, strength and interval training to explosively work every major muscle group in the body, guaranteeing (well, almost) that the kids will sleep well that night.

There is ample opportunity for friendly intra-family competition to take place, new skills to be developed or discovered, and far more exertion than will take place sitting at night in front of the “tube.”

The workouts might even inspire new topics of conversation between parent and child.

The workout follows a basic 15-30-15 template: 15 minutes of warm-up and cardio, 30 minutes going bell-to-bell on the bags, and 15 minutes focused on the core/abdominal section of the body.

The end result is a total-body experience, including that “six-inch muscle between the ears.”

The summer refrain from family members after their first Power Hour won’t be “Mom/Dad, are we there yet?” or “Turn off the TV and go PLAY!”

Instead, you’ll hear, “Can we go punch TITLE Boxing Club’s bags? Huh, can we, can we?”

Chris Campbell co-owns TITLE Boxing Club with his wife Kim, the regular contributor in this space. Chris has been hitting the bag for six months!