Exercise is important for everyone, but teen physical activity is essential because teens are going through a period of rapid development. Getting plenty of physical activity will help them stay in shape (physically, mentally, and emotionally) while ensuring they enter adulthood as healthy individuals.
Exercise has lots of physical benefits for teenagers such as:
- Strengthened muscles and bones
- A healthier heart
- Good blood pressure
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Stronger immune system
- Reduced risk of several diseases
- Increased energy
- Better sleep
- Healthier skin
- Promoting healthy growth and development
Physical activity also provides teens with several mental and emotional benefits like:
- Improved cognition
- Increased confidence
- Positive self-image
- Reduced stress and anxiety
- Mitigated depression
Promoting physical activity for teens can also help your child create healthy habits while developing their social skills and making new friends in sports and group fitness settings. Ideally, teens should get 30 to 60 minutes of exercise every day.
Finding Activities Your Teens Enjoy
A diverse range of physical activity (i.e. aerobic, muscle-strengthening, bone-strengthening, flexibility, balance, etc.) is recommended for the best results. This means nearly endless physical activity options can pique teens’ interest in exercise. Motivate them to move by finding and starting with the activities they enjoy.
Organized Sports
Organized sports provided through schools or community organizations can be a great way for your teen to learn a game, make friends, spend time with their friends, belong to a group, and stay active in a scheduled and structured way.
Outdoor Adventures
The outdoors provides lots of opportunities for activities as a family or with friends. Take your family on a hiking and camping trip, explore the wilderness, or spend time playing games in the park.
Dance Classes
Dance classes are a great physical activity for teens who love music. Dance can help them learn to express themselves through movement, getting exercise while making art and having fun.
Group Fitness Classes
Many gyms and community organizations provide group fitness classes for teenagers. These can be strength training, aerobic, dance-based aerobic, yoga, pilates, water-based, or something else. When it comes to group fitness, the options are endless. With a membership to a gym that offers classes, your teen can try out lots of different activities to find which ones they enjoy.
Tie Physical Activity to Interests
You can also encourage physical fitness by tying exercise to an interest. For example, if your teenager loves reading, take walks or bike rides to a nearby bookstore. Make a plan to spend some quality time together walking to a bakery for a treat. Or take your photography-loving teen on a picturesque hike. If your teen loves animals, you could encourage them to volunteer at a local animal shelter as a dog walker.
Making Physical Activity a Family Affair
Physical activity is good for humans of all ages – that means you and your younger children, too. So, making physical activity a family affair is a healthy choice you can make for your whole family’s well-being (even if that means modifying some activities to accommodate everyone’s abilities).
Research shows that parental behavior modeling is extremely important in influencing a child’s choices and behaviors. While it might seem like your teenager tries to do everything opposite of you, your lifestyle and choices still impact them. So, prioritizing physical activity in your life and within your family will help your children learn the importance of exercise and develop positive associations with it.
Set aside time as often as you can for family exercise. Strategies for getting active together could mean playing a game of touch football in the backyard, signing up for a family gym membership and using it together, going for family hikes and bike rides, or scheduling a routine pickup basketball game with neighbors. In the winter, participate in outdoor winter activities like sledding, skiing, snowboarding, or ice skating.
You can also increase and prioritize exercise by making small adjustments in your family’s daily routines. For example, park at the back of the lot and take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Preparing for Teen Physical Activity With Our Pediatrician
Before beginning any new physical activity or routine, it is always recommended to check with your teen’s pediatrician. This is especially important for children with chronic health conditions such as asthma, epilepsy, or diabetes.
At Children’s Wellness Center, we provide school and sports physicals where we screen your child before they begin a new activity and provide official authorization for group activities. We can examine your child and help ensure you have everything they need (athletic mouthguard, protective equipment, or medications) to ensure a safe beginning in a new exercise program.
If you have any questions about teen physical activity or if you would like to schedule an appointment for your child, please contact us.
