ASHEVILLE, NC -- Playing on a playground increases your child’s strength, endurance and flexibility. A family trip to the playground at your local park is a great outing that gives your kids the opportunity to be more active. Simply playing on a playground helps your children get their recommended amount of exercise each day.

There are many exercises you can add to a trip to the playground to make it even more beneficial for your child’s health. You may even want to try the following exercises yourself for a challenging workout.

If the playground isn’t too crowded, view it as a circuit. In other words, set up stations and certain exercises using each piece of equipment with a starting point and an ending point. Always remember to begin with a warm-up by briskly walking or jogging around the perimeter of the playground for about five minutes.

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Other tidbits from the article:

• Slides can be used for push-ups (with the feet or hands supported) and lunges (where one foot is up on the slide and the other is in front).
• Step-ups are a more cardiovascular exercise if you step up onto a slide.
• Monkey bars make for great abdominal exercise. Have you or your children hang by the hands and lift the knees up toward the waist. Hanging upside down from monkey bars increases circulation and strengthens muscles while challenging balance.
• The balance beam can also be used to cross or can be used for push-ups, dips and other upper-body exercises.
• Those platforms that lead you from one piece of equipment to the next are great areas for crunches, squats, jumping jacks, bicycle crunches and many other exercises.
• Follow the Leader can be a fun way to participate in a playground circuit with your family. Decide who the leader will be, how many stations there will be, and take off.