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The Best Exercises to Improve Teen Health and Fitness

By Contributed content 16 January 2019
In the modern age, it can be hard to keep your children fit. They spend most of their time glued to a television screen – either catching up on the television series or playing intense video games. Unless they’re invested in sport, by the end of the day, they may not have actually completed much movement. Barry White – a writer at GymHut, lists several helpful exercises, designed to help inactive teenagers move more, and active teenagers to perform better.

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Cardio

Cardio can come in various forms such as running, cycling, swimming, rowing, or HIIT, making it easy to find something that your teenager actually enjoys. Sometimes half the battle is down to pure enjoyment, but all of the options provide similar benefits. Cardio is a great way to increase your heart rate, improve your muscular health, and burn calories.

Stretching

Poor posture is a common issue among teenagers as they spend a lot of the time hunched over at school or watching television. This can create spinal issues, muscular tightness, and a decreased connection between the mind and body, due to pressure on the spinal cord. In order to counteract this, stretching is a great idea.

Crunches

Crunches are great for teenagers as they’re relatively easy to do, effective, and can be done anywhere. There’s no need for fancy equipment or gym subscriptions as you can do it all from the comfort of your own home. Crunches are good for improving core health and strengthening abs.

Planks

There’s a good reason why planks are frequently called the best core exercise, and that’s because they actually work the entire body. In order to execute the movement effectively, you have to stabilise with your shoulders and arms, glutes, and legs. Planks are fantastic for improving core health, balance, and stability throughout the entire body.

Squats

Just as planks are the best core exercises, squats are the king of lower body exercise. There’s nothing better for building strong, capable legs than squats. You can do these with a barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell, or with your body weight, depending on your strength level. The important thing is to keep good form to avoid injury and gain the most benefit from the exercise.

Sit-Ups

Sit-ups and crunches are often mistaken for one another, but there are slight differences between the two. Crunches involve taking your shoulders and upper back off the ground, whereas sit-ups involve taking your entire torso off the ground, as if you were trying to press your forehead against your knees. Crunches are fairly straight-forward, but sit-ups have a wide range of variations. Some people prefer sit-ups to crunches, but they have a relatively similar outcome, so it really just comes down to personal preference.

Sideways Bends

Sideways bends can help to stretch out the sides of the torso, upper, and lower back. Often teenagers can develop lower back tightness due to poor posture throughout the day, but by stretching these areas out, they will have fewer aches and pains. Sideways bends can be used as a stretching or strengthening exercise. By standing up and holding a dumbbell or kettlebell in one hand, you can engage the muscles on the other side of your body to help build a stronger, more capable, and healthier core.
Read more! Explore the rest of our Wellness section on Localiiz.

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