Your teenage years are an excellent time to build your strength! However, it’s also a time where you’re learning to control a growing body and mind. Your muscles and growth plates are also still getting stronger. This means that sometimes you need to focus on controlling your body weight first before adding too much resistance and load. Check out our five tips for weight training properly as a teen!
1. Check with your teen’s physician before starting them on a weight training program
2. Begin with supervised, no- or low- resistance exercise routine to perfect form and technique
3. Once form is perfected, routines should focus on high repetition/low resistance exercises; heavy weights and explosive lifts should be avoided
4. Because exercise machines are often too large for growing teens, supervised free weight routines are best
5. Training routines should begin with a 10-15 minute warm up, include 2-3 sets of 8-15 exercise repetitions, and end with 10-15 minute cool down/stretching period
Happy strength training!
Laura Hoffman, PT, MSPT, STC, CSCS, TPI CGFI-MP3/FP2
