The best workout for teens depends on their individual goals and interests. For athletes, weight resistance and plyometrics can improve performance, while brisk walking and a good diet can help with weight loss. Virtual workouts like Wii Fit can engage tech-savvy teens, while low-impact exercises like recumbent biking can benefit those who are overweight or out of shape. It’s important to start with a physical and mental evaluation and avoid overtraining.
The best workout for teens is usually the one that works best for the teen in question. One teen may be a high school athlete who wants to improve her performance for a specific sport, another may want to lose a little weight for prom, and another may despise exercise altogether. The key is usually to figure out what the teen is interested in and then tailor the training to the teen.
For an athlete, a weight resistance program along with plyometrics could be good for building strength and power. To burn some fat for the big dance, a teen might consider brisk walking for 30 minutes three times a week; Used in conjunction with a good diet, it may help shed excess weight. For the teen residing in the virtual world where exercise is foreign, now there’s a virtual world solution to get the blood flowing and the muscles burning without ever taking your eyes off the glow of a screen: the Wii Fit.
Usually, the first step in discovering the best workout for teens is a physical and mental evaluation. For example, if a teenager is significantly overweight, she is out of shape and loses her focus easily, the less is more approach may be best. Low-impact aerobic exercise, such as on a recumbent bike, can minimize stress on your joints while providing a reasonably comfortable way to burn calories and gently improve your cardiovascular system. A modest weight training program can be put in place to help rebuild metabolism, which is generally the long-term key to effective weight management.
The amount of weights for a teen workout should generally be kept light and the reps high at first, usually in the 12-15 rep range, allowing the body to adjust to the new demands placed on it. As the teen progresses, the weights can be increased and the repetitions decreased accordingly for further muscle gains. For optimal results, the diet of the truly overweight adolescent should be evaluated by a nutritionist.
If your teen is in good shape, but finds all the exercise boring, they could play a sport, such as surfing, snowboarding, aerobic dance, basketball, soccer, or tennis. For the cyber-minded teen, the Wii Fit, with its full interactive arsenal of physical challenges, could help get you moving. By simply having fun, the committed teen might follow through on the American Heart Association’s suggestion that teens raise their heart rates for 20 minutes non-stop three or more times a week.
Teenage athletes often gravitate towards a gym. With a myriad of training tools available — free weights, dumbbells, kettle bells, stacking machines, medicine balls, foam rollers, and mini trampolines — the dedicated teen will likely never run out of equipment with which to challenge himself. The only factor to consider with a teen workout is not to let your teen overtrain – they should be given adequate rest between sessions to maximize fitness gains and avoid injury.
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