Is your child looking towards building strength and stamina? Fitness trainers and pediatricians suggest it is safe to introduce your young ones to supervised and progressive strength training.
Strength training involves resistance exercises that build strength and stamina. It improves the metabolic rate and increases the lean body mass of the youth. Regular strength training is beneficial for heart health, maintaining cholesterol levels and building strong bones.
The optimal age for the youth to begin strength training would be 10–15 years when they are most interested. A pediatrician or sports medicine doctor’s evaluation is recommended before the young teen starts a strength training program to rule out any underlying medical issues. Also, a qualified trainer must be always present to supervise the training teens.
Here at Warriors Fitness Camp, we have a 4-week strength training program Fitness that has been designed for the youth. The program is designed in a way that would be engaging for the youth as well as not put too much stress on their bodies which might result in injuries. Let us now look at the workout routine. You can also read about how the exercises are to be performed.
Warm up-
Any strength training workout routine should begin with 10–15 minutes of warm-up to get the blood circulating into the muscles. This is essential to prepare them for the strain they would be put through during the workout. Perform aerobic exercises like running, cycling before the workout to get your body and mind ready for the exercise routine.
Exercises-
1. Squats- They are one of the best lower body exercises. Multi-joint, compound exercises targeting the major muscles in the lower body including the hips, thighs, and glutes. To keep the workout fresh and challenging, try the different squat variations like wall sits, dumbbell squats and barbell squats. Here’s how you do a basic squat.
· Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
· Keep your hips contracted and tight as you squat down.
· Keep your head and torso straight and send your hips back.
· Squat until your thighs are parallel to the ground.
· Hold the position for some time and stand back up slowly.
2. Cable row- This exercise works the back muscles along with your forearm and upper arm muscles. Here’s how you perform a cable row.
· Sit on the platform with bent knees and grasp the cable.
· Pull the weight and handle back towards the lower abdomen.
· Don’t move your torso back while pulling and keep the back straight to target the middle and upper back.
· Return the cable to full stretch.
3. Inclined Dumbbell Press- This workout targets the chest, shoulders and triceps hitting each part individually. Here’s how you do it.
· Sit on the bench and incline back. Hold the dumbbells positioned at the shoulders, bent elbows angling towards the ribs.
· With your core braced, push the dumbbells up to your chest while you exhale. The dumbbells should touch each other at the top and your arms should be perpendicular to the floor.
· Slowly lower the dumbbells to the top of your chest while inhaling.
4. Arm curl- It targets the biceps in front of the upper arm as well as the muscles in the lower arm.
· Stand with the feet hip-width apart and engage the abdominal muscles.
· Hold a dumbbell in each hand. With your palms facing forwards and upper arm stable, bend your elbows and lift the dumbbells towards the shoulders while exhaling.
· Lower your arms to starting position while inhaling.
5. Triceps Pushdowns- This exercise targets the triceps at the back of your upper arm.
· Grasp the bar or rope of the triceps pushdown cable machine with an overhand grip. Adjust the position of the bar to chest level.
· Inhale and push down until your elbowsare in a straight locked position close to your body. Bend your knee slightly and back straight while pushing down.
· Exhale and return to starting position.
6. Crunches- It is a classic core exercise targeting the abdominal muscles along with your pelvis, lower back, and hips. Here’s how you do it.
· Lie on your back with feet at hip-width apart. Bend your knees and keep your arms on your chest.
· Exhale and pull your upper body up while keeping the neck and head relaxed.
· Return to starting position while inhaling.
7. Cable Pulldown- This is done to target the back, arms, and abs. It is also a multi-joint, compound workout to build strength and requires your core and abs to be engaged for balance. Here’s how you do it.
· Grab the hand attachment at shoulder width and lock your elbows in a straight position.
· With a straight back, exhale while pulling the cable down to the thighs and hold.
· Inhale and allow the weights to return to their original position.
Cool down for 10–15 minutes with some light stretching. The recommended exercises are to be done in sets of 1–3 with 10–15 repetitions each. It is advisable to perform the workouts for 20–30 minutes 2–3 days a week. A gradual progression in the number of sets with a slight increase in weights should be done under the supervision of a qualified trainer.
Happy Training..!
Originally published at https://warriorfitnesscamp.com on May 27, 2021.
