Aerobic Exercise
A teen’s fitness program should include aerobics like brisk walking, basketball, bicycling, swimming, in-line skating, soccer, jogging—any continuous activity that increases pulse and breathing. Regular workouts improve the efficiency of the cardiorespiratory system, in order that the guts and lungs don’t need to work as hard to satisfy the body’s increased demands for freshly oxygenated blood.
Aerobic exercise also affects weight composition, by burning excess calories that might otherwise get converted to fat. generally, the more aerobic activity, the more calories are expended. as an example, if an adolescent weighing 132 pounds walks at a moderate pace for ten minutes, he burns forty-three calories. Running rather than walking quite doubles the quantity of energy spent, to ninety calories.
Low-intensity workouts burn a better percentage of calories from fat than high-intensity workouts do. However, the more taxing aerobic exercises ultimately burn more fat calories overall. One study compared the burn rates for a thirty-minute walk at three and a half miles per hour and a thirty-minute run at seven miles per hour. The walking group expended a mean of 240 calories. Two-fifths came from fat, and three-fifths came from carbohydrates, for a complete of ninety-six fat calories. within the running group, the ratio of fat energy burned versus carbohydrate energy burned was significantly less: one to four. Yet overall, the runners consumed 450 calories. The total number of fat calories burned: 108.
Weight Training
Under the guidance of well-trained adults, children aged eight or older can safely incorporate weight training (also called strength training and resistance training) into their workouts to extend muscle strength and muscle endurance. Muscle strength refers to the power to displace a given load or resistance, while muscle endurance is the ability to sustain less-intense force over an extended period of your time. Males won't be ready to develop large muscles until after puberty. Females generally aren't ready to develop large muscle mass. they are doing not need to worry about getting too muscular.
The Proper Technique: Less Weight, More Reps
Multiple studies show that children gain strength and endurance faster by lifting moderately heavy weights repeatedly instead of straining to hoist unwieldy loads for just a couple of repetitions.
Teens should be supervised by a professional adult, who can help them and demonstrate the right technique. For that reason, it’s safer to figure out at college or at a health spa than on home exercise equipment. Other precautions to require include the following:
- See your pediatrician for a physical and checkup before your youngster starts training.
- Remember that resistance training may be a small part of a well-rounded fitness program. Experts generally recommend that adolescents exercise with weights no quite 3 times every week.
- Don’t overdo it (part 1): Excessive physical activity can cause injuries and cause menstrual abnormalities. Your teenager could also be exercising an excessive amount of if her weight falls below normal or her muscles ache. Complaints of pain warrant a call to your pediatrician.
- Don’t overdo it (part 2): Teens should be reminded to not intensify the load resistance and a number of repetitions before they’re physically ready. getting into shape takes time.
- Drink many fluids when exercising. children are more vulnerable to the consequences of warmth and humidity than adults. Teens’ ability to dissipate heat through sweating isn't as efficient as adults. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that teens drink a minimum of two six-ounce glasses of water before, during, and after understanding in steamy conditions.
- Always warm-up and funky down with stretching exercises before and after training. Stretching the muscles increases their flexibility: the power to maneuver joints and stretch muscles through a full range of motion, and therefore the fourth component of fitness. It also helps safeguard against injury.
