Strength Training for Teens: Building a Healthy Foundation

Sep 3, 2024 | Education

Introduction

Entering into teen years is the perfect time for a child to begin their exercise journey for a healthy lifestyle. Strength training is the process of building muscle strength and endurance through the use of weights and resistance bands.

Puberty can be a great time to start strength training to not only build a healthier body but also gain more confidence as children start to see changes in their body. If you’re wondering whether strength training is right for your kid, here’s all you need to make an informed decision.

Benefits Of Strength Training For Teens

For adolescents and younger children alike, strength training can be a great way to ensure the following:

  • Increased Muscle Strength – Strength training focuses on improving the stamina and endurance of a teen, giving them more physical strength.
  • Enhanced Bone Density – Strength training is a great way to care for bone health, as it has long term benefits, even when your teen gets older.
  • Build More Lean Body Mass – When teenagers take out time for strength training, they tone their muscles and build more lean body mass as compared to accumulating more fat. This enhances their metabolism and ensures healthy weight management.
  • Avoid Injuries – Strength training has a positive and direct role to play in strengthening your adolescent’s muscles and joints. This helps them avoid injuries while playing, especially if they’re a part of any contact sports or other physical activities.
  • Improved Mental Health – Exercise is a great way to fill your child with confidence, higher self esteem and focus. When a teenager strength trains, they learn to use it as an outlet for stress relief and anxiety, making them more healthy both physically and mentally.
  • Better Body Posture – Strength training focuses on all the muscles of the body. As a result of regular strength training, your child’s body posture and balance improves over time, giving them a better body frame and reducing injuries.

Routine For Strength Training For Teens

A healthy workout routine for a teenager, consisting of resistance training should include the following steps:

  • A warm up consisting of dynamic stretches as well as cardio, either in the form of running or brisk walking. The warm up should last anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Try alternating between squats using a half rack, dumbbell rows, lunges, push ups, bicep curls, planks, and leg raises for an effective strength training session. If there are no dumbbell exercises that your teen is comfortable with yet, try introducing them to resistance bands.
  • A good workout session should consist of 3 to 4 exercises, last between 30 to 45 minutes, and the number of reps and sets can be adjusted depending on the fitness level and goal of the child.
  • Remember, it’s important to take breaks between sets. A 30 to 60 second rest period is recommended to keep the heart rate elevated enough and relax the muscles at the same time.
  • A cool down should consist of light stretching with focus on major muscle groups that have been trained that day. Focus on slowing down the body by decreasing the intensity of the exercise and relaxing the muscles. A 5 to 10 minute long cool down is ideal for a teenager.

Safety Tips To Follow

While there is no denying that resistance training can be a boon for teenagers in building a healthy foundation to their fitness journey, there are certain things that must be taken care of:

  • Ensure proper technique and supervision for your child when they’re strength training. It’s always a good idea to find classes with a professional trainer to help your child learn the basics and prevent any mishaps.
  • Prioritize age specific strength training exercises and equipment in accordance with the developmental needs of your child. Also, if your child is new to strength training, always begin with lighter weights and focus on building strength through progressive loading.
  • Focus on making warm up and cool down a part of your teen’s strength training regimen and use breaks as well as rest days to ensure proper recovery of muscles. Keep the frequency of workouts based on how your teen’s body reacts to the strength training routine. Overtraining can lead to muscle fatigue which can make recovery difficult.
  • Last but not least, ensure a balanced diet consisting of all macronutrients to support recovery and growth along with hydration. A basic rule of thumb is to drink about 50% of water of your body weight in ounces.

Final Thoughts

Strength training can be a great way to build a healthy foundation for adolescents. As your teenagers start preparing for enhancing their muscle strength and endurance, it’s important to follow a healthy regime for their strength training journey and always follow safety tips to prevent injuries.

Strength training can be a healthy way to introduce them to building a healthy lifestyle while also caring for their mental well being in the long run. However, it’s essential to follow a slow and steady routine to build a habit that your teenager can take into their adulthood. Just stay with them every step of the way.

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