You and your children could try to stay covered for the entire summer, but what fun would that be? You want to wear the skin-baring summer shorts, shirts, and shoes, so it’s time to get moving with these children activities!

1. Start out slowly. If you haven’t been active for the past three or four months, rushing headlong into activity is an injury waiting to happen. Begin with stretching exercises to help your muscles warm up and then start walking.

2. Add to your routine. After a week of walking, you may want to begin adding minutes to how long you walk, distance to how far, or quicken the pace a little bit. Gradually adding to your workout will help you avoid injury and help you reach the level you’d like to be.

3. Ask a friend to join you. Exercising with a friend is more enjoyable than working out alone. The added benefit of having a friend along is that they can encourage you to keep up the good work and give you someone to be accountable to. You may even want to create a friendly competition to spur you on.

4. Watch what you eat. All the exercising in the world won’t do you any good if you overeat or eat the wrong foods. While you may not need a full-blown diet after the winter, you probably do want to adjust your eating to include more fresh fruits and vegetables. Cutting down on the amount of carbohydrates you eat can also affect your weight.

5. Be sure to stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water each day to keep hydrated. This is especially important when you’re working out or if the temperatures begin to soar. Drinking water can also be helpful in weight loss because it helps flush the fats out of your system.

Yes, it’s important to get in shape for summer, but wouldn’t it be better to be healthy all year round? By starting slow, getting a friend to join you, watching what you eat, and staying hydrated, you’ll be on your way to getting fit and ready for all that life holds in store for you. What do you have to lose? Get off the couch and get moving; you’ll be glad you did!