Designing Exercises For Children & Teens

March 5, 2009 by Kat Wendersen
Filed under Fitness Training

Young people under the age of 20 often pride themselves with greater flexibility, higher metabolic rates, and greater amounts of energy than those who are more senior to them. However, it is clear that they will still need an amount of exercise in order to strengthen their body, improve insurance, encourage fitness, and avoid injury.

Despite the presence of so many electronic gadgets that can occupy a young person’s life, there is no better way to really spend one’s time than dedicating a portion of it to exercise. After all, it is during these young years that individuals develop whatever habits they will repeatedly do during their years as adults.

Obviously, younger people are more likely to lose interest in exercise programs that are tailored for the taste of older people. These exercise activities need not be organized sports either. Jogging with a companion, playing tennis, swimming, playing golf with peers, practicing martial arts, cycling, dancing, and doing gymnastics, are just some of the activities that may hold greater appeal to the young.

photo credit: lu_lu

Younger people are very sensitive when it comes to adults saying things and doing something differently. As such, when designing exercises of children and teens in terms of health and wellness, it is important to walk your talk, and actually do what you say with them. This becomes an avenue, even, for parents to spend time with their children doing exercise activities that are beneficial for all parties. Not only do parents get to exercise with their kids, but they are also able to observe whether or not their child is performing a specific exercise in a safe and correct manner.

Most routines advise individuals to stop at the first sign of pain. Even aches and shakes a day after doing a routine can discourage a person from pursuing an exercise. As such, make sure to start simple, and allow the level of difficulty to build up over time. While kids may have some physical advantages over grown-ups, they will still need to warm up before a strenuous exercise. Warming up with a couple of both dynamic and static stretches go a long way in preventing injuries.

It is important that routines take into consideration the age group of each child.

Those that are between the ages of 4 and 7 should stress the development of basic motor skills, which would include hand-eye coordination and balance. During these years, specific motor skills are not as fully developed, so training them further may be beneficial.

At about 8 years of age, you can begin a more rigorous level of activity in order to keep the volume of food the child consumes from turning into fat. In the process, you will be able to develop a set of good eating habits that these kids can take with them as they grow older. Take care not to let pre-teens make use of weight machines, as it is risky and is likely to discourage further growth.

Gymnastics is an excellent sport that is able to develop both coordination and balance in an exemplary fashion.

Kids have a huge wealth of choices when it comes to exercise. Their continually growing skeletal system allows them to pursue a lot of high-performing physical activities that can help further develop their bodies. Due care against injury must always be considered.

Instead of rebellion or playing horse, children and teens should be allowed to productively expend their energies on something that will not only make them healthier, but will also help instill in them good health habits in the future. Planning exercises of children and teens, you should keep these points in mind.