Super Fun Halloween Workout

With Halloween right around the corner, you are probably thinking about taking your kids trick-or-treating, even though my girls are grown we still participate in Trick or treating in some shape or form. This could be your Halloween workout and is good exercise just on its own since you spend an hour or more walking around the neighborhood. However, there are also a lot of stops and a lot of waiting. You can turn this into an even better Halloween workout by re-thinking how you trick-or-treat and adding some vAriations. Here are some different ways to get in some exercise with this Halloween workout. 

Jog, Run or Skip Between Houses

To start with, don’t just casually walk from house to house. All this is doing is keeping you and your family from burning as many calories as you could, plus it will make you feel less guilty when eating all their Halloween candy. ( Don’t laugh, you know you secretly sneak their candy when they are asleep or when they are at school.) So instead of walking, try to change up your routine between houses, such as walking in long, fast strides or even going for a little jog between houses. Of course, you do need to make sure your kids are wearing safe, comfortable shoes and they don’t have costumes that they could trip over because nobody has time to deal with a screaming time. Another great idea for your Halloween workout is to actually skip between the houses. In just 5 minutes, someone who weighs 150 pounds could burn around 70 calories by skipping alone. ( I didn’t know that, but in doing the research for this post, I totally discovered this little tidbit. And now I am skipping all around the house.) Think of what you can burn after a night of trick-or-treating with your family.

Use a Wagon For the Little Ones

If you are bringing toddlers with you trick-or-treating, they might not be able to walk safely from house to house. This means you might have been thinking about putting them in a stroller for when they get tired of carrying them. Carrying toddlers is a great workout, but it can tire you out quickly. A better option is to push or pull them in a little wagon. I follow a blogger that takes her four children in a wagon everywhere and it so awesome. Sometimes I am awe in how she handles four kids 6 and under. 

Wagons are actually a lot harder to maneuver than strollers, so while your toddlers get to have fun on their wagon ride, you are getting in a good workout too. Think of how defined the muscles in your arms will be. Alternate between pushing or pulling the wagon and letting the little ones ride in the wagon when you are on the street, then help them out at each house when they want to collect their candy.

Get the Neighbors Involved in your Halloween Workout

A trick-or-treating challenge is a great idea when you are friendly with your neighbors and think they might want to participate. You can decide on any type of challenge you want, and give out a fun Halloween prize to the winner, plus you know that kids love winning prizes. Here are some different ways to create a Halloween workout:

Track everyone’s activity with a Fitbit –

One way to have a Halloween fitness challenge is to have each adult use a Fitbit that can be tracked as a team. This lets you see how many steps were taken during the night. At the end of trick-or-treating, the prize can go to the person or team with the most steps or who walked the furthest distance. This will require going out of your neighborhood, but it allows your kids to have fun, while you get in a great workout.

Log a certain amount of squats, burpees, or lunges –

Another challenge is to have each parent in the neighborhood doing their Halloween workout while their kids get candy from the door. You can pick an exercise to do, such as lunges, burpees, or squats. Keep track of how many you do, and give a prize at the end of the night to the person who logged the most. Plus you can make it kid-friendly and come up with a plan for kids as well, using the type of treats as a way for them to exercise. Like for instance if they get a chocolate bar they have to do 5 jumping jacks.

Race around the neighborhood to see who finishes first –

If you live in a cul-de-sac you can make an easy fitness challenge by having families go around to the houses as fast as they can, then give a prize to the family that reaches the finish line first. Plus you can always have a yummy treat at the finish line for the families to chat over when the race is done. I am thinking some yummy cider or hot chocolate and this would be a great time for a Cookie Swap.

Do Costume-Specific Workouts

There are also workouts you can do when you see certain costumes. You need to start by assigning a workout and number of repetitions for each type of costume you think you will see. Pick some common costumes for the easier workouts and what you imagine are rare costumes for the harder workouts. Here are some examples you can use, but you can choose any combination you want:

But here are a few. And don’t worry about remembering all of this I have made a handy dandy printable for you to carry with you. 

 

Baby in a bumblebee costume – 5 burpees

Any Avengers costume – 10 jumping jacks

Costume with a mask – plank for 30 seconds

Witch costume – 7 reverse crunches

Pokemon costume – Sprint to the next house

Star Wars costume – 7 leg lifts

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume – jog in place for 20 seconds

Any character from televisions or Movies- 20 Arm Circles

A Disney Character Costume – Spin Around Once 

Plan Your Route Carefully

Finally, you can increase your fitness during trick-or-treating by planning your route carefully. Instead of just going around your own neighborhoods, drive around to other neighborhoods to look for streets with lots of challenges. These small changes can make a big impact when you are trying to increase your fitness level. 

Tips For Planning a High-Fitness Route:

• Look for streets with a lot of hills or steep climbs
• Find houses with stairs leading up to the front yard
• Go to houses with long driveways you can sprint down for an extra workout
• Go to areas for trick-or-treating that require more walking, such as the local mall

Remember that any activity you do can be something that burns calories and helps with your fitness, including this Halloween workout. Getting your kids involved makes it more enjoyable and helps them battle childhood obesity at the same time.

So, what’s in YOUR Halloween workout? Let me know in the comments below!

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