Teenagers are just as serious about training and putting on muscle as their adult counterparts. I have personally run weight training classes for my students for the last ten years as a teacher. Here are some basic ideas for teenagers (and adults) to get the most out of their training.
Exercise selection. As a teenager I always wanted huge arms so I did countless sets of curls to get big guns and little else (It didn’t work!). The reality is your arms will grow a lot faster if you focus on compound movements like presses, pull ups, squats and rows. I find that a split routine seems to be more beneficial initially. Not only does it provide rapid strength improvements but I find students seem to remember and perform exercises better when it is broken into upper and lower body workouts.
Here is an example of a good basic routine:
Workouts are completed on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Basically you will perform 2 upper body workouts and 1 lower body workout one week and 2 lower body workouts and 1 upper body workout the following week, and so on and so on.
Day 1 Upper body
- Chin ups
- DB or BB Bench press
- DB Row
- Db Press
- Shrug
- DB curl
- Dip
Day 2 Lower body
- Squats/ Front squats
- Leg press
- Leg curl
- Calf raise
- Seated calf raise
- Abdominal crunches
- Plank
*Cool down should involve stretches for muscles worked directly.
Exercise technique. It is important that teenagers develop good exercise technique for their unique body type. I will often get students to perform a productive compound exercise and find that it just doesn’t suit their structure. They will need to find someone who is knowledgeable about exercise technique if they are to maximise progress and minimise the risk of injury. A couple of key points I have for all exercises when teenagers begin are:
- Warm up properly with a light weight focusing on good form.
- Keep the rib cage high while keeping belly button sucked in (Still breathe).
- Keep head in a neutral position
- If standing do the above but have feet shoulder width apart with a slight bend at the knees.
- Take at least 2 seconds to raise the weight and 2 seconds to lower it.
Overtraining. This is one of the biggest problems with teenagers is they always want to train every day (sometimes for hours on end) on top of their other sport commitments. I have let a few students train more than four times per week as they wouldn’t listen to my advice that their muscles grow on the days they rested. After a lot of effort for little or no gains they soon realise that training 2-4 times per week is the best way to go as a young natural athlete. I also encourage them to get at least 8 hours sleep every night and to take extra rest days if they feel tired.
Nutrition. This can make or break their training efforts. I treat students as individuals when they ask me about diet. If they are naturally lean and struggle to put on weight I encourage them to have good sources of protein like meat, eggs, fish, nuts, dairy as well as unlimited fruit and vegetables. I also get these students to have a good amount of complex carbohydrates like kumara, pumpkin and whole grains. For students who are aiming to lose body fat I encourage them to eat a very similar diet but with less carbohydrates.
Supplementation. Teenagers can benefit from taking supplements and I encourage them to take whey protein concentrate (after training and as a snack between food meals), fish or flax oil and a good multi vitamin and mineral supplement. It must be said that a good diet should be in place first before supplements are added if they wish to get the most out of them.
It is great that teenagers are choosing to follow a lifestyle that will benefit their well-being now and far into the future. If they are consistent with their training, set goals and follow the advice above, they will be well on their way to achieving their goals and more!