Resistance Training For Teenagers
Question:
What resistance training would you suggest for a teenager of average weight looking to lose a few pounds?
I’ve heard that aerobic exercise and dieting are okay but that weight lifting and resistance training make everything more effective.
We even have a weight lifting machine at home that no one uses, but I’m just not sure what kind of exercises to do.
I’ve already looked online and found a few but I’m looking for something that can be done with the LEAST amount of equipment, like just dumbbells or something like that.
I’d be glad for any suggestions along with tips on how many repetitions and how long to do the exercise, thanks!
I should’ve probably been more specific. I need to know exactly what exercises are good to do and how to do them. If you guys have any advice on weight lifting routines, that’d be great!
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Click here for free workouts for teenagers. Sign up for a free account. The workout show you want is called TX2. There’s also great toning, strengthening, cardio and Pilates classes online. They’re all free.
I suggest getting a set of resistance bands so you can follow along with the workouts. You’ll bet better range of motion with them than with that weight lifting machine. Plus, you’ll be able to workout your entire body with the bands.
Background info. Resistance training causes microtrauma to the muscles that you’re working. If you get the right amount of rest in between workouts, your muscles will be a bit stronger than before, the fat content of those muscles will decrease slightly, and your lean muscle mass will increase slightly. (Some people call this toning.)
Lean muscle mass has a higher resting metabolism than white fat. So the muscles you work will burn more calories, even when you’re sitting at the computer.
If you have limited time for your workouts, focus on the biggest muscles. That would be the quads, in the front of your thighs. Quad work is the single most important resistance training exercise for getting stronger and slimming down a bit. It will also improve your skiing and mountain hiking abilities.
Although brisk walking on level ground is a fine exercise, it mainly works the calves and buttissimo. It doesn’t do all that much for the quads.
I know of three quad exercises. Leg extensions on an exercise machine will do the job. (However that puts way too much stress on my knee joints.) Leg presses on an exercise machine may be a little better.
The third alternative is correct form squats. I do one-leg squats on an old, el cheapo, fold-up Total Gym 1000. The machine forces me to use the correct form.
The correct form for standing squats is to come up with your arms straight out in front of you, and parallel to the floor. Each foot should point out at a 45° angle. The main point is that you don’t want to bring your lower back muscles into play. That would decrease the efficiency of your quad work.
If you can do a maximum of 6 repetitions, do that every day.
If you can do a maximum of 8 reps, do that every other day.
If you can do a maximum of 10 reps, do that every third day.
That’s what would work best for me if I was just starting out. Your recovery rate may be a little faster or a little slower than mine. The main idea is that you give your muscles the right amount of time to recover and to get a bit stronger than they were before. If you get sore muscles the next day, wait until he soreness goes away completely before doing your next quad work. You should see your endurance increase slightly from week to week.
If you have extra time after your squats, do some standing leg curls. Put you hands on a wall for balance. While standing on your right foot, kick yourself in the buttissimo with your left foot for a number of reps until you feel a little tiredness in the hamstring muscles, in the back of the thigh. Then switch sides, and do the same number of reps. This exercise helps basketball players to reduce the risk of hamstring injury. Both exercises can reduce the risk of knee injury from various sports.
Another good body-weight exercise is Larry Shrugs. Lean your back against a door. Lift your left leg until your thigh is parallel with the floor. Then grab the underside of your thigh just behind the knee, using both hands. Shrug your shoulders upwards to lift your leg higher, and do as many reps as you can. Working the upper trapezius muscles regularly is useful for day- hikers who want to prevent shoulder muscle soreness after carrying a rucksack all day.
Upper body exercises with dumbbells are good too. But they work smaller muscle groups. So they don’t give as much benefit for the same amount of workout time.
Choose a pair of dumbbells that give a good resistance for hammer curls. As with quad work, a moderately heavy resistance should give a first-rate workout in a reasonable amount of time. (Maxing out on a huge number of reps at a low resistance level is more likely to cause sore muscles.)
The same resistance that you use for hammer curls should also be good for (kneeling) tricep kickbacks, for wrist curls, and for side deltoid raises. You can do Google image searches to find pictures of these 4 exercises.
Handweights may be cheaper than dumbbells. (Some people carry handweights on their daily walks.) The one brand name that I remember from my local sporting goods store is Heavy Hands.
If you still have time after all of this, crunches are a nice way to end a resistance training workout. Strong abs decrease the risk of lower back injury.
If you’re pressed for time, your first priority should be quad work. It gives the biggest payoff for the amount of time that you spend on resistance training exercise.