Many teenage girls are unhappy about their weight and looks in general, but mistakenly think that dieting without exercise will boost looks and self confidence. It is seemingly impossible to sell a teenage girl on the benefits of increasing exercise and muscle tone without the quick fix weight loss of crash dieting. However, if you tell her that muscle burns fat and increases metabolism, which means she can eat more without gaining weight, you just might get her interested. Introducing more complex issues like bone loss, which is something she may dismiss as an "old person's thing" and the other health benefits of keeping fit, is not part of the hard sell.
Step 1
Work with what your teen likes to do anyway. If you are starting from, "flicking the remote control," take a step backwards and ask what she enjoyed as a child. Ballet this increases core strength and lengthens muscles. Cycling can include the family and increases lower body strength and thigh muscles. Swimming streamlines and strengthens all muscles in the body and is safe for those who have to stick to low impact exercise. Find out if she is an indoor or outdoor person. If she is the former, get home exercise equipment or encourage her to join an after-school fitness club with a friend.
Step 2
Work on strength training, not body building, which she will associate with looking like a guy and bulking up. For strength training, start her off with her own body weight, doing exercises such as push ups, sit ups and squats for lower body. Resistance bands are cheap and often come with workout videos. Power lifting heavy weights is NOT recommended for teens because they can cause injuries to growing bones, muscles and joints.
Step 3
Invest in at least two or three personally supervised gym or personal trainer sessions. Split the cost with another friend. With weight training, technique is all and if she is doing it wrong she is more prone to injury. The professional will also talk about nutritional needs, realistic goals and be able to supervise technique. He will also advise on warm up routines, essential to warm the muscles up before strength training.
Step 4
Do not ignore pain. If you are a teenager, everything is still growing and more prone to injury if you overdo it. Stop your teen working out if it hurts too much or if she feels something pop or make a funny noise, stop! Tell her to be moderate and stick to three twenty minute sessions a week, working gradually up to three one hour sessions a week, with a warm up and a cool down included. She should work only two or three muscle groups each session. Always encourage her to start by using her own body weight for resistance than going straight for the free weights.
Step 5
Be mindful of sports nutrition. It's very tempting for a teenage girl to think hard workouts combined with restricted calories equals rapid weight loss. During her workout, she should drink lots of water. She should not be working out at the level that you need to "carb load" as you would before a marathon. She should stick to a healthy, balanced diet with the occasional treat. Meals that are rich in complex carbohydrates, the ones that give her energy for longer, are best eaten a few hours before a workout.
Tips and Warnings
- Cross train for muscle gain and weight loss. This means combining aerobic activities such as running or dancing with toning exercises, like push ups or leg lifts. Increase core strength. Core strength means the strength in the torso. It helps with balance, not putting too much pressure on individual muscles and feeling fit all over. Core strength exercises include balance ball workouts, Pilates or yoga.
- Don't skip stretching. There is usually a before and after stretch chart at a gym to instruct you how to loosen and lengthen the muscles and increase flexibility before and after workout. If you don't go to a gym, buy a chart from a fitness shop. Don't think because you are working out, you can smoke and drink with ease. Smoking and drinking decrease bone mass. Do not combine exercise routine with a crash diet. You will crash and burn and possibly make yourself ill. Don't ignore cardio exercises. They warm up the muscles and burn calories.
Things You'll Need
- Dumbbells
- Small sets of free weights
- Resistance bands
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