5 Ways to Help Your Teen Have an Active and Healthy Lifestyle

Good exercise and eating habits are vital and are best established at a young age. By teaching your teen effective and enjoyable ways to exercise and stay well, you are setting her up to live a healthy and happy life. Here are five things you should do to help your teen get excited about physical fitness and wellness, according to Christian Palmer, strength and conditioning coach and personal trainer at Equinox Mamaroneck. 

Make sure his focus isn’t the scale.

In a world dominated by social media and superficial mindsets, teens are very conscious of how they look versus how they feel. Palmer suggests the first thing to teach your child when it comes to exercising is not to focus on the scale, but instead on the way that exercising makes him feel. Learning how to use his body to do things like absorb the force from a jump and lift weights does not solely mean losing weight. 

Help her eat healthy, but don’t enforce a strict diet.

Developing a healthy and well-balanced diet is important, especially in growing teenagers. However, giving a strict, structured diet to a teen may not be necessary or the best option for her. Instead of a diet, Palmer suggests encouraging her to make the best choices she can and emphasize eating from the ground (unprocessed, natural foods).

Don’t be afraid of weights.

A lot of parents are afraid their child will stunt his growth if he begins lifting weights at a young age. The reality, Palmer says, is most kids aren’t strong enough to lift weights that would negatively impact their growth in any way. Teach him the proper form for important motions such as squatting, deadlifting, and pressing.

“Strength is essentially the most important thing you’re looking to work on with young kids because they’ve got new bodies,” Palmer says. “Strength is typically what translates to better movers, better athletes, and ultimately more confidence.”