Fancy being more active in 2023?
Join our 2023 Active Challenge – 52 fun physical activities guaranteed to get the blood pumping, one for every week of the year! They’re accessible, require minimal equipment and can be modified to suit children and adults of all ages!
There’s no better time than the New Year to make a meaningful pledge to be more active but we understand it has to be practical and realistic, which is why we’ve created this bitesize programme of 52 different physical challenges.
The physical activities vary each week but they share one common theme – they’re exhilarating and FUN! So give it a go – can you keep up with us throughout the entire year?
Each quarter we’ll reveal the latest batch of weekly challenges, which will be published in a downloadable and printable planner to stick on your fridge!
Each new weekly challenge will begin on a Monday and participants should aim to complete each one a minimum of three times per week, putting special focus on weekends when it’s the perfect time to encourage friends and family to join in!
Remember, the UK Chief Medical Officer recommends that children are active for an average of 60 minutes a day across the week, so the active challenge will contribute towards this goal.
Tick the activities off as you go and post on socials using #PremierActiveChallenge to share your progress. The Premier Education team will be joining in too, sharing videos and tips along the way to help keep you motivated!
Why not keep a weekly diary of your progress and record how the different challenges make your family feel? Or send us your letters, emails and pictures to tell us how you’re getting on.
At the end of the year, we’ll award some prizes to those who have shown effort and been dedicated to living a more active 2023!
Above all, it’s about having FUN! Embrace each challenge and give it your best shot. But remember, above anything else, it’s about having FUN and finding the joy in being active.
Physical activity is so much fun plus it comes with a host of positive health benefits:
Test your reactions with a fun game of garden volleyball this summer. All you need is something to act as your net, tied between two points, and a ball to hit over the net to a partner.
Can your kids get a rally going? How many can they get?
Take it in turns with your child to spell out your names with this exercise word game! With each letter having its own exercise, can you and your child complete your first name and surname? Why not try swapping with your child later in the week – you spell out their name and vice versa.
A – 5 x jumping jacks
B – 10 x jumping jacks
C – 10 jumps
D – hop on one foot 5 times
E – touch your toes 10 times
F – crab walk for 20 seconds
G – 5 x sit ups
H – 10 x mountain climbers
I – 5 x push ups
J – 30 seconds of high knees
K – kick your left foot as high as you can
L – 5 x jumping jacks
M – 10 x jumps
N – balance on 1 leg for 30 seconds
O – 5 x sit ups
P – 5 x push ups
Q – 10 mountain climbers
R – kick right foot as high as you can
S – run in place for 30 seconds
T – run with high knees for 30 secondsÂ
U – 10 x jumps
V – 10 x mountain climbers
W – balance on 1 leg for 30 seconds
X – 5 x sit ups
Y – 10 jumping jacks
Z – hop on one foot 5 times
Take advantage of the longest day of the year (Summer Solstice is on Wednesday 21 June) by enjoying some extended walks around your local area, park or woods. There’s time to head out on a family walk after school or enjoy a long stroll over the weekend.
Either way, soak up the extra sunshine and fill the long summer days with some added adventures! Aim to walk at least three times across the week. How did it make you all feel?
Make the most of the lighter evenings, and get the whole family to bust some moves in the garden or park with this party-game inspired activity. All you need is some music, then get your groove on while the music plays. As soon as the stop button is pressed, freeze!Â
A great one to do with friends or family members to increase the competition element, but it’s also fun for your child to do on their own and see how still you can be when the music stops.
Aim to do this once in the week and once at the weekend. Just remember to keep the music down so the neighbours aren’t disturbed.
Be inspired by the pomp and circumstance of the coronation and see if your children can channel their inner soldier by taking on a marching challenge. Can they march on the spot for 30 seconds followed by ‘high knees’ jogging on the spot for 30 seconds? See if they can complete 5 rounds.
Walking and jogging are great ways to get the heart-rate up and the addition of the ‘high knees’ means those legs will get a great workout!
Everyone can be involved in this fun, energetic activity, and see if you and your kids can repeat this twice during the week.
Complete each exercise for 40 seconds followed by 20 seconds of rest. Can you do four rounds? Aim to beat your family members by doing more exercises in the 40 seconds than them!
To tie in with Mental Health Awareness Week, this week’s challenge has been set to make sure our minds are healthy as well as our bodies.Â
Some simple yoga movements and breathing exercises really help children to tune into how they are feeling. So, get them to wear something comfy and warm and they will enjoy this chance to stretch out those muscles and check in with their thoughts.
Exercise 1: Sitting cross-legged, in a comfortable position, take 10 deep breaths, counting in for 5 and out for 5.
Exercise 2: Standing up tall, slowly start to nod your head forward, then roll all the way down, with a soft bend in your knees – can you touch your toes? Take a deep breath at the bottom, then slowly roll back up. Repeat 3 times.
Exercise 3: On all fours, curl your back up like a cat to stretch your spine, then release and arch your back the other way. Try to breathe in to curl then breathe out to arch. Repeat 5 times.Â
At the end of the set of exercises ask your child to return to their seated, cross-legged position and see if they can notice how they feel.
Burpees are a great way to get everything firing! Why not see how many your child can do in one minute? Better yet, join in and see who can do the most!
For the exercise, start standing up, then crouch down and place your hands on the floor, either jump or step your feet back then quickly return them, jumping up, and repeating the movement. As a variation, try doing a ‘frog burpee’ instead, which removes the jump at the end.Â
Aim to do this challenge three times throughout the week and build on your scores each time.
As World Bicycle Day is on 3rd June, we’re celebrating the bicycle as a great way to stay healthy as well as a form of transport. So, get outside and see if you can use your bikes or scooters on three journeys where you’d normally use the car. These could be to school, to the local park or playground, or to a friend’s house.Â
Just make sure you all wear helmets!
From bunny hops to springy jumping jacks, this egg-citing Easter-inspired workout will get the whole family bouncing into the Easter weekend.Â
Hop to it with 40 seconds for each exercise, with 20 seconds of rest in between. Can your kids complete three rounds?
It’s half term, so it’s the perfect time to try out a new activity with the other members of your family. Pitch and putt or crazy golf are great fun and get you outdoors – and moving! Why not give it a try and see if you can get a hole in one.
We know, however, that golf isn’t for everyone, and it can be tricky to start with. You can switch it up in lots of ways.Â
Head to the park or into the garden and take a variety of small balls and some targets – plastic cups or bowls work well. Set them up approx. 2m away and take it in turns to roll/throw the balls, aiming for the targets. Come up with a scoring system as a family, for example, smaller targets, or those further away could be worth more points.
Whether it’s indoors, in a garden or at the park, a thrilling game of hide and seek is a fabulous way to pit your wits against family and friends whilst keeping active.Â
Turbo-charge your game by adding a fitness twist – whoever is found has to do 50 star jumps!
Hopscotch is not only brilliant to help establish counting, but it’s a simple and easy game to initiate at home. All you need is some pavement chalk to mark out your grid. You might also find hopscotch marked out at your local playground to use, so there’s no excuse not to get hopping!
This one is guaranteed to get the blood flowing! Challenge each family member to see how many step ups they can complete in one minute. Use either the bottom step of a flight of stairs or step up onto a secure box. Repeat daily (three times across the week if not) and track progress. Can anyone improve on their scores from the start of the week?
Comic Relief helps to support vulnerable or disadvantaged people in the UK and around the world. Why not pledge to undertake a sponsored dance challenge, raising funds for children in need?Â
Ask friends and family to sponsor you while you create your own dance routine with friends. Either put on a performance at home or ask your school whether they will allow you to perform the routine during assembly.
If you’d prefer not to seek sponsorship, simply make up your own dance routine for fun and make a video diary of your progress to share with friends or family.
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The Big Walk and Wheel, starting today, is a national initiative to encourage kids to commute to school using human power only! Try walking, cycling or scooting. If not the whole way, can you make part of your trip on foot or wheels? For more information or to get your school involved, click here.
This one is a huge hit with kids, being simple, fun and energetic! It also requires good listening and coordination.
Play your favourite music and run, dance or leap around the room until a grown up calls ‘FLOOR IS LAVA!’ at which point everyone should get off the floor as fast as possible, pretending the floor is made of burning lava.
Kids and parents should leap onto the sofa, sit on a chair, hop onto a footstool or climb on to a toy box – anything to avoid getting stuck in the molten lava!
As it’s Schools’ Football Week, we’ve included a football-themed challenge for the whole family to try, regardless of age or ability.
Spend time perfecting your keepie uppies with a ball in the park or back garden – aim for a minimum of 15 minutes of practice three times throughout the week. At the end of the week, bring the family together to see who can do the most keepie uppies in one go. It’s great for balance, coordination and muscle memory!
If your children are a little too young for keepie uppies or other factors make this challenge a difficult one for your family to try out, why not try a slightly simplified version? Begin by asking your child to hold the ball. Then, instruct them to drop the ball, let it bounce, and challenge them to kick it on the way up. To complete the challenge, they’ll just need to catch the ball!
This classic game shouldn’t only be reserved for kid’s parties as it’s great fun and a brilliant form of exercise. It’s also super for problem-solving!
You’ll need a minimum of four players but the more the merrier.
Assign someone to control the music then count how many participants are left. Arrange enough chairs – allowing one per player – in a circle with all chairs facing the outside of the circle.
When the music starts the kids run clockwise around the chairs. When the music stops they have to sit down on a chair as quickly as possible. Count this as the trial run. After this, remove one chair after each round – every time one person will be left standing without a chair. Who will be the last one standing?
If you’re short of space, adapt the game by using cushions instead of chairs. Or if you don’t have enough cushions to spare, make spots out of coloured paper (roughly the size of a dinner plate) to sit or stand on instead. Both options take up less room and are easy to modify to suit the space you have available.
Pancake Day falls this week so we’ve got a pancake-inspired fitness challenge to keep children busy!
Since pancakes are flipped up and down, this week’s workout contains exercises that require up and downward movements. Can you complete three reps of the following:
As it’s World Book Day this week (2nd March), challenge your family to select 10 favourite characters from children’s story books. They could be animals, aliens, dinosaurs or sportsmen. Once you have chosen your 10 characters, try running or walking like each one, mimicking their movements. Will you waddle like a penguin, stomp like a T-Rex, or fly like a bird? Let your imaginations run wild!
Celebrate the start of a new year with a fun 15-minute family dance party! Play your favourite tunes, turn up the music and bust out your best moves! Take it in turns to make up your own dance routine (think Simon says) or dial up the challenge by adding a freeze dance section! It’s guaranteed to get the blood pumping and faces smiling!
It may be cold outside but it’s a great time to head out on a winter scavenger hunt with family. Take a long walk through the woods, or see how many items you can spot on your walk to school:
Keep a record of how many items the child manages to spot.
Obstacle courses encourage your creativity to run wild and can be adapted to suit the equipment or space you have available.
Set up a simple obstacle course in a safe area in the house (avoid sharp corners or walls). Aim to add about 6-8 different activities within the course. Here are some of our favourites:
An obstacle course works both indoors and outdoors but as the weather can be a little temperamental it’s best to set yours up indoors – perfect for a rainy day!
Time yourselves. Who will be the first person to complete the course in the fastest time?
Hiit is a great form of physical exercise, being super for cardiovascular health, strength and endurance.
Work your way through the following fitness activities, completing each one for 40 seconds, with a 20 second rest in between:
Get the whole family moving with an exhilarating and hilarious game of balloon volleyball! Inflate your balloon(s) and clear the area (to avoid accidents) then take it in turns to keep the balloon in the air.
As an extra challenge set the timer to see how long you can keep the balloon in play. Each time you play, see if you can keep the balloon off the ground for an even longer period of time!