Active Family Activities + Exercises to Do in the Central Valley

There are many activities and exercises that can help you get stronger and improve your range of motion, whether you’re recovering from an injury or simply want to improve your physical fitness. However, when you do these activities with your children and other family members, they become more enjoyable and you’re more likely to continue them.

Active family activities can:

• Be outdoors or indoors
• Be aerobic or anaerobic
• Stimulate you athletically and mentally
• Improve parent-child and sibling relationships
• Encourage physical activity

Exercising with family members has one main and significant benefit for physical health: encouraging an active lifestyle.

Generally, family members form a support system that people can rely on to form good physical activity habits. When you’re recovering from an injury or surgery, familial support can be especially helpful.

Some other benefits of healthy, active exercises and activities with family include:

• Family bonding
• Teaching children the value of family & teamwork
• Sets a good example for children
• Improves family communication
• Builds empathy with each other

We recommend doing warmup activities and any prescribed physical therapy exercises before any active family outing.

Pre-outing exercises have several benefits:

• Maximize the benefits of physical activity by raising body temperature
• Help prevent injuries or re-injuries
• Increase flexibility
• Steady your mind for the activity
• Make the activity more enjoyable

Warmup exercises, especially those that stretch out the muscles and motions you will use during the family activity, help your body prepare for it.

Many of our physical therapy exercises can be used as warmups for activities that use the same targeted muscle groups. You can check them out on our YouTube Channel.

Besides workouts, make sure you bring water and any snacks you may need during the family exercise. If the activity is outdoors, plan for the weather, including bringing sunscreen and bug repellant if desired.

The Central Valley has a variety of fun and engaging activities for any able person of any age. Here is a list of 7 active family activities and where you can do them in the Central Valley from Madera and Fresno to Lemoore to Porterville.

Cycling as a family, especially with kids, allows you to gradually build your strength back after an injury or surgery. Along with improving cardiovascular and respiratory health, it helps relieve stress and improve muscular fitness while being easier on the knees than running.

Check out our guide on cycling in the Central Valley for more information.

• Lewis S. Eaton Bike Trail in Fresno
• Packwood Creek Trail in Visalia
• North Sanger Trail in Sanger
• Tulare Cycle Park in Tulare

Going on a steady walk with family members is a good way to combine spending time with family and keeping physical activity going.

Walking is a comparatively easy, low-impact activity that helps build strength and bones. Check out our guide on walking and running in Fresno County for an overview of the benefits.

• Woodward Park in Fresno
• Reedley Rail-Trail in Reedley
• Big Sycamore Trail near Porterville
• Heritage Park in Lemoore

While ice skating, roller skating, or roller blading may seem like something reserved for kids and teens, it’s a very good exercise for adults as well. That makes skating a great physical activity to do with the family.

Skating accomplishes many things that can aid in recovery from injury or surgery, or with conditions such as vertigo.

• Increases heart health as an aerobic exercise
• Improves coordination
• Improves balance
• Works out core muscle groups
• Results in less pressure on your knees
• Increases strength

• Gateway Ice Center in Fresno
• United Skates in Clovis
• Roller Towne in Visalia

Self-defense classes are mostly available to all ages of family members. They also come in many well-known forms, such as boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai, karate, judo, and kickboxing.

While you can search for classes to teach you and your family any of these specific martial arts disciplines, you can also seek out Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) classes. These wholesome self-defense classes teach multi-disciplinary self-defense and life lessons, and have evolved quite a bit since they were branded during the first Ultimate Fighting Championship promotion in 1993.

The benefits of self-defense classes include:

• Increases flexibility and range of motion
• Increases cardiovascular endurance
• Increases strength
• Leads to better weight maintenance
• Builds confidence
• Reduces stress
• Builds relationships and community

Many self-defense dojos or training centers in the Central Valley offer children’s and adults’ classes, as well as family discounts. Enrolling the family can be a fun way to promote physical activity while also improving self-defense and promoting good behavior, responsibility, and discipline.

• Karate Confidence in Lemoore
• Moore’s Martial Arts in Fresno
• Resilience Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Visalia
• Elite Team Porterville in Porterville

Fruit, pumpkin, or apple picking are well known as fun activities to do with family, but did you know it provides many other benefits as well?

1. Gets parents and kids off the couch and into the outdoors
2. Boosts individuals’ moods
3. Provides more physical activity than simply walking
4. Improves joint health through kneeling and stretching
5. Builds relationships between family members

• Julie’s Organic Blueberry U-Pick in Porterville
• Naylor’s Organics in Dinuba
• Genesis Organic Farm in Hanford
• Planet Pumpkin in Fresno
• Hillcrest Pumpkin Patch in Reedley

Kayaking and rafting are good for groups and great for family. They also are a good workout that anyone can do, whether you’re doing physical therapy or not.

Similar to a stationary rowing machine, kayaking and rafting can help improve your strength, cardiovascular fitness, and flexibility & range of motion.

The movements of kayaking, canoeing, or rafting are a full-body workout that involves many different muscle groups.

The following kayaking and rafting options are lower intensity water activities that almost anyone in the family can participate in, from elementary school-aged children to adults.

• Millerton Lake in Friant
• Zephyr Whitewater Expeditions – Kings River in Dunlap
• Kaweah Marina in Lemon Cove