The other day my family took advantage of the perfect outdoor Fall weather and we spent the morning riding bikes to the local library and school playground. While our kids were busy exploring the teeter-totters, swings, and playscapes, my husband and I happened to notice a few lonely, but well-used, tetherball poles. With just one silent look at each other, we both knew it was "game on".

Now, don't ask me what I was thinking…I'm 5'6" and my husband is 6'4".  Obviously, I didn't really stand a chance.  But, the competitive side in me had to try.  I guess maybe I remember too vividly my elementary school days when I was always the unlucky kid to patiently wait my turn in line, only to have to play against the biggest kid in the class who could wind the ball around the pole in just one punch.  No lines here…  and maybe somehow over the years  I had magically gained some newfound tetherball skills that would allow me to effortlessly defeat my husband.

So, with one swift serve, the battle began.  Oh my goodness!  We haven't laughed that hard in months!  It was hysterical!  We were both making these weird, awkward groans and growls while trying to hit the ball as hard as we could that it sounded like a tennis match with Maria Sharapova.  And, we were each laughing so hard at the other person's sounds and techniques that we'd end up missing the ball and laughing even more.   By the end of just three games, my husband and I were both huffing and puffing like we'd just sprinted a 5K. 

I was so amazed at how much of a cardio workout it actually was that I went home and immediately found an online exercise calculator to figure out how many calories a person can burn playing tetherball.  It turns out that a 150lb person can supposedly burn 136 calories playing 30 minutes of tetherball.  (However, I have to wonder if it's not more if you're playing as competitively as we did since the calculator lumped tetherball into a "children's activity" group along with hopscotch and jacks?! )

Regardless of calories burned, tetherball is truly a fun way to get outside and enjoy some great family exercise…and probably even a few good laughs, too!  (Seriously, when was the last time you tried to take a swing at a tetherball?  It's an entirely new game as an adult!)  If you're like me and kind of forget the real rules of tetherball, no worries.  Just click here, we've got them all written down for you.  And, if you want to make it even easier to relive your elementary school days, Lifetime now makes a Portable Tetherball System for your own backyard!  It uses a plastic portable base (much like our basketball hoop bases) that fills with sand or water and you simply roll it to your desired location.  

Have your own funny tetherball experience you'd like to share from today or elementary school  days? Leave a comment below, I'd love to hear!   (By the way, I'm happy to say I did hold my own much better than I anticipated, but in the end he beat me three games in a row. So much for magically honing my tetherball skills.  Next time… )