Just a few days ago, my mother was tired of hearing my brother and me bicker over what to watch on Netflix. Obviously I wanted to watch Friends, and he wanted to watch anything but Friends. My mother shut off the TV and announced that we would be holding a family track meet. 

My eyes rolled so far back into my head that I’m pretty sure I was able to see my brain. A family track meet was the last thing I wanted to do, but inevitably I was dragged into it. 

My heart was pounding, and my mind was going a million miles a minute. I just had to clear that last height, and I would be the family high jump champion. Visions of that first-place medal danced my head. 

To make a long story short, my foot clipped the broom (aka: the high jump bar), and I about fell to my death. If my life was a movie, that would ‘ve been the long-anticipated slow motion scene. Of course, I didn’t actually die, but my older brother is never going to let me live that one down.

This was a one-day activity because we mostly spend our days attending the dreaded Zoom meetings and not doing our online homework. However, it is always a great idea to stay active especially during this time of quarantine. 

“Low levels of physical activity can have negative effects on the health, well-being and quality of life of individuals,” said the World Health Organization (WHO) in an online article Staying Active During Quarantine.

WHO suggest activities like walking or meditation, and if you’re anything like me, those activities just will not do the trick. 

Instead, I have created a solid list of interesting ways to stay active, and they are approved by yours truly. However, I will not be held responsible for any injuries that may occur.

High jump 

While I may have slight PTSD from this event, it is actually quite fun. It will require a broomstick and some type of stackable objects (we used toilet paper). Take a running head start and jump like your life depends on it. I would recommend using pillows to break your fall because believe me, it will hurt. 

Shot put and discus 

Go into your backyard and collect some pretty large rocks, preferably round, but other shapes might be more fun. Get in an athletic position and throw the rocks. Be cautious of nearby windows, because I’m sure you don’t want to spend your stimulus check on replacing a broken window. For discus, take some plates (please ask parental permission) and throw them like a Frisbee. There will most definitely be broken glass, but this can be quite therapeutic as well. 

Hurdles 

This one is for those select few people who enjoy jumping over objects that are purposely placed in their running path (p.s. the race would go faster if there hurdles weren’t there.)  You can use the same materials from high jump, or maybe you can use your little siblings instead. Take a running start and hurdle over the objects to your heart’s content. To get a more realistic environment, ask your parents to yell and scream while you jump. 

Stepping stones 

You can thank our childhood for this event. It requires some old pillows, or even couch cushions. Place the cushions a few feet apart, and then jump onto the next one. It’s more fun to pretend the floor is lava while playing, and I’m sure we all played this when we were still kids. This event is a nice time to reminisce on your childhood. Sometimes I would move the cushion right before my brother jumped, but I wouldn’t recommend doing that. 

Sword fighting 

Beware, this event can be quite dangerous. It will require two very long sticks, or you can stack Crayola markers. Grab an opponent and get to fighting. If you have foam swords, I would suggest using that instead. 

OK, OK,  maybe my family didn’t have an actual track meet, but they did help me assemble the events on this list. 

Just remember,  physical activity is still important, even when there is a worldwide pandemic.