Exercising together helps promote interaction and kinship is forged. GERALDINE LING reports

A family that exercises together, stays together, it seems.

While exercising alone has many benefits – it can protect people from a host of diseases, including heart disease, and help them to look and feel good – exercising together helps a family to bond.

Dr Chiam Tut Fu, a sports medicine physician at Sportsmed Central, said that family exercise promotes interaction in a focused manner as there is little distraction from other activities during the workout.

Dr Tan Jee Lim, a consultant orthopaedic sports surgeon at JL Sports Medicine & Surgery, said that kinship is forged when family members help each other out in team sports.

Besides creating strong bonds, Dr Chiam said exercising together encourages otherwise inactive family members to engage in physical exercise. It also serves as a helpful respite from a hectic schedule, he added.

Exercise, whether done alone or together as a family, should be performed two to five times a week for 20 minutes each time and at a moderate intensity for maximum health benefits, he said.

At moderate intensity, a person will feel the exertion but is still able to engage in simple conversation. He or she should not be out of breath.

Health website WebMD has these tips for getting everyone in the family up and moving together.

■ Take short walks. If everyone is busy, walking may be the easiest group activity as no equipment is needed.

A 2008 study published in Medicine And Science In Sports And Exercise reported that walking for at least 30 minutes a day at moderate intensity can lower the risk of obesity and heart disease.

Walks can be made fun by varying the pace of walking and throwing in short jogs at times, said Dr Chiam.

Scavenger hunts can keep the children from being bored. For example, WebMD suggests having a list of “treasures” to find along the way, like spotting a black dog or a blue house.

■ Play team sports. Team sports like catch frisbee or basketball help to keep one’s heart healthy because they are aerobic in nature, said Dr Chiam.

Aerobic or cardiovascular exercise includes physical activity that increases your heart rate and keeps it higher for a certain period of time. A person doing regular aerobic exercise may see improvements in blood sugar control, cholesterol levels and weight management.

Teamwork should ideally be incorporated into the exercises to increase the fun and interaction. For example, have members of the family form teams against one another. This can easily be done in a basketball game, said Dr Chiam.

■ Dance together. Dancing together is a perfect indoor activity for rainy days, WebMD said. Parents can teach children dances from their generation and boogie together. Alternatively, create a new dance together to a song. Have your children pick a different song each week.

Dr Tan said that dancing, apart from being a cardiovascular workout, is a good weight-bearing exercise. This helps to build strong bones and prevent osteoporosis, a disease characterised by fragile bones and fractures later in life.