Teenage is a crucial phase of life where one is in transition from being a child to becoming an adult. Many physical, mental, and psychological changes occur when one undergoes this transition.
This age is also important in terms of physical growth. Individuals in their teens start to evolve not only in terms of physical structure but also in terms of their likes, tastes, routines, hobbies, diet, etc. There is a strong sense of improving or changing oneself. Physical development is one of them. Indulging in physical activity at this age can help one carry the good results long enough to lead a healthy life into old age.
Be it cardiovascular health, bodily strength, mental health, or maintaining a decent shape of the body, working out in this crucial phase can ease situations in the future, apart from fulfilling present needs. Exercise not only helps one improve physically but also mentally and psychologically.
Here we present a comprehensive discussion on physical activity and workouts for beginners and teenagers, as well as some important points. Let’s have a look.
Why Should You Workout ?
Not only teens, but people of every age group must workout according to their fitness levels. Teenagers must workout according to their strength levels and in age-appropriate ways. Here’s why it’s important:
1) To build muscles and strength: It is important to get strong with age so as to support bones, muscles, and weight. Not only this, but building strength also saves you from muscular weakness, fatigue, osteoporosis, etc.
2) To maintain optimum weight and shape: As our body ages, our shape tends to distort, and body weight increases due to wrong eating and a sedentary lifestyle. Regular workouts and sports activities can help keep both weight and shape in optimal conditions.
3) To improve heart health: Participation in sports and other athletic exercises can greatly improve your cardiovascular health. It keeps bad cholesterol levels in check and also boosts metabolism. Exercise in general and athletics in particular can increase the amount of blood pumped per beat by the heart and thus increase the oxygen levels in the blood. This will be greatly beneficial in your adulthood.
4) Boosts Mental Health: Mental health issues, restlessness, and general anxiety are too common among teenagers these days. The reasons may be multiple. Regular exercise can help balance hormone levels and thus improve general mental health.
5) To Increase Efficiency: Efficiency can be defined as the output work that can be derived from a given amount of input effort. Workouts in general can clear our mind and increase our focus level, thus improving efficiency in almost every task, be it academics, household chores, or professional tasks.
Best age to go to gym as a teenager
When it comes to age, most teens are generally ready to join a gym at around 15 years of age, as they have reached a level of physical and emotional maturity. Although it is important to consult a medical practitioner, who would give you a clearance,
However, as a general suggestion, one should focus on overall fitness rather than bodybuilding. One should start a gym workout with proper supervision, avoid heavy weights, and focus on form and technique. Moreover, each individual is different, and it depends entirely on individual situations and circumstances when it comes to gym workout plans and techniques. It is essential that safety and compatibility be prioritised while performing any workout.
How many days a week should a teenager workout?
Generally speaking, 3-5 days a week for about 60 minutes a day of workouts is optimum for a teenager, which provides enough time for recovery, which is extremely essential for muscle growth and avoiding injury.
As a beginner teen, a 3-day-a-week routine is quite good, as this helps in faimiliarising with training. This also prepares the body for future heavy workouts.
But for a teenager who is already quite active in sports and other similar activities, 4-5 days a week is also suitable. Then he or she should also focus on taking appropriate rest so as to aid the body in recovery.
Exercises Good For Teens
Exercises for teens are a combination of cardio, strength, and flexibility. Although this combination is equally beneficial for people of other age groups.
Here are some exercises that are quite beneficial for teenagers:
1) Aerobics: These include moderate running, jogging, cycling, swimming, dancing, and team sports like soccer, basketball, cricket, etc.
2) Strength Training: There are various types of workouts for building strength. To begin with, body-weight exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, squats, crunches, lunges, planks, etc. are excellent choices. Along with this, weight lifting with moderate weights and proper technique under expert supervision can be adopted.
3) Resistance Bands: Easy to use at home and can be used for strength training.
4) Exercises for Flexibility: Body stretching is a wonderful technique for achieving and maintaining flexibility. Further, yoga and pilates can also be added to the routine.
5) Miscellaneous Activities: Hiking, trekking, martial arts, skateboarding, etc. are some of the miscellaneous activities.
Essential points to remember for safe exercise:
1) Proper warm-up and cooling down: Monitoring the heat transfer process in the body is essential for a safe and durable workout. Maintaining the appropriate body temperature is also linked to endurance, vitality, and strength. Our body is generally not that flexible at rest, and our muscles are not ready for heavy loads. So warm up before any exercise is required to avoid any injury.
Moreover, bringing the body gradually to normal conditions is also important so as to avoid any kind of muscle stiffening. Therefore, proper cooling down after any intense exercise is extremely important.
2) Proper technique and form: Without proper technique and form, the muscles and joints may suffer minor to major injuries. Almost all of us, as beginners, have suffered strains and sprains at least once in our workouts. Therefore, to avoid any kind of major injury, proper technique and form are necessary while exercising.
3) Proper Hydration: Living cells are approximately 70% water. Cells need water to undergo various biological processes. Depriving the cell at the micro level and the body at the macro level would halt many essential processes. Improper hydration after exercise, especially after high-intensity activities like cardio may be dangerous. Therefore, hydration and replenishment of essential salts and electrolytes become quite important.
4) Rest and Recovery: Our body needs time and rest to rebuild itself. Not only this, but rest replenishes energy and vitality. Rest also brings back the strength required for the workout in the next session.
5) Know your edge; avoid extremism: It is quite often seen that teens and beginners have a tendency to overdo and lean beyond their edge. This could be dangerous in many cases. Sometimes, this ego-lifting in gyms can prove to be fatal. Extremism in any field should be avoided. Remember, ‘moderation is the key’.
