Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Outdoor Family Games are Healthy--for Body and Soul

By Craig Mecham

According to the experts there are two things which are a problem in our society. First is that we're not getting enough exercise. We spend too much time sitting around. We sit on the couch, we sit in front of the TV, we sit in the car, we sit behind our desks. We just do too much sitting. Of course sometimes we just have to sit, but we need to do less of it. Maybe we wouldn't all be so fat if we moved around a little more.

Back in the good old days, Americans got much more exercise. Not so today. We need to do more walking, running, jogging or even just moving around--take the stairs instead of the elevator--you know the drill. One recent report from the American Cancer Society says that lack of exercise is just as dangerous to our health as smoking! That's a surprise! Plus, they tell us that people who don't exercise are two times as likely to have heart disease as people who are exercising even a moderate amount.

Back in the early 60's there were large numbers of people walking or jogging. It was quite a fad to see how far you could walk in a day. People would walk as much as 20, 25 or 30 miles in a day. And the newspapers would write articles about it! Even back then, our country was worried that we were sitting around and getting flabby. No one expects us to walk 30 miles today, but it we be good if we did something simple like play an outdoor family game together.

The experts say that just a small amount of exercise is still helpful for our bodies. Many people are taking advantage of outdoor family games to add some exercise to their routines. The popularity of backyard games has increased dramatically over the past year or two. There are many different types from which to choose and they're an inexpensive way to have fun while exercising.

BlongoBall is one game that is becoming increasingly popular all across the nation. It's easy to set up and fun to play. You don't need any particular athletic ability so it's suitable for all ages from grade schoolers to Grandpa and Grandma.

The game is played by tossing a bolo constructed from two golf balls connected with a length of rope. The bolo is tossed at the horizontal rungs of a "ladder" type goal. Scoring is accomplished when the bolo wraps around one of the horizontal rungs. It's easy to learn and fun to play.

There are many BlongoBall imitators in the "toss it, wrap it, score" game category. BlongoBall is the original and our favorite. We've tested most all of these types of games and our preference is for BlongoBall because it is the only one we think is built to last. Some of the cheap imitations broke almost immediately, so be careful when buying a game if this type.

The second thing the experts are telling us is that we don't spend enough time together as families. Of course this is probably not going to make you lose weight, unless being with your family puts you off your dinner. But an essential part of healthy psychology and parenting is to spend time together not just working and handling the chores involved with running a family, but doing fun things.

This is a natural place for outdoor family games to fit into the routine. Most families will have a great time with a game that's as easy and fun to play as BlongoBall. Even temperamental teenagers can easily become interested in game that's a little challenging but not demanding a tremendous amount of skill.

When you're playing BlongoBall it's easy to converse and interact with other players. This is one of the other reasons we like it. It doesn't require such focus and concentration that conversation must come to a stop, yet it's still challenging enough to capture the interest of everyone in the family. It makes family time truly a together time. All the kids, even the very young grade schoolers can play. Plus, you can purchase additional soft rubber ball sets to use indoors in the winter. BlongoBall is a favorite year round game in many families.

All in all, outdoor family games are a great idea not only for staying in shape physically, but for keeping your family in shape and emotionally healthy.

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