Exercise Programs for Teenagers

I am aware many youngsters these days are keen on altering their body image, and in the age of increased childhood obesity it's probably a good thing. However, exercise needs to be done correctly to achieve any goals or even to be healthy. It is often better to do no exercise than to follow an incorrect training program (which can be dangerous).

This is my advice to any 15 year old who wants to start sculpting his or her body:

You are quite young and I don't recommend training with weights when your skeleton is not fully formed and when you are in a fast phase of development, as teenagers generally are. Also, hard training is not necessary for adolescents (which is what you are, biologically).

The best way to train is to do one set of every exercise you do and do not bother training until failure. You must stop before you are unable to continue each exercise.

Use the following exercises (using only the weight of your body):

Lunges, squats, calf raises, crunches (not sit-ups, unless you use a steeply inclined bench), planks (hold until about to lose form, and then stop while still under control), pressups, pullups (you can always find somewhere to hang from even without a gym).

Because you are doing sub-maximal training you can train every other day (not every day) for strength and muscle building. On the days between these workouts you may want to do a session of short sprints to build 'lean' power and lower body muscle size. This is also cardiovascular exercise. Don't sprint too hard (if you do 100m sprints start slower and go all-out only in the last 20m). Warm up before sprinting with 10 minutes of slow steady running. Always take one or two days off each week when no exercise is done.

Keep all workouts short (not over 25 minutes in length). This is crucial if you are to benefit. Train regularly and don't stop for long periods - layoff's are demotivating and cause more problems than you'd ever imagine.

Lastly, learn to enjoy it - do stuff you enjoy and don't push too hard or you wont enjoy it. After you turn 16 (and after 1 year of doing the training I've suggested) you can look to join a gym and start using weights (or use weights at home?). Still, never go over 25 minutes until you are 18 years old and even then, aim for 30-45 minutes per session as a maximum.

I hope this makes sense. If you don't know how to do the exercises I listed, get help - or look them up on the internet. Learn how to do them correctly before you start. Doing the exercises wrong is worse than not training at all.

Best wishes

Idai Makaya
www.idaimakaya.com