How do I get started?
Begin by setting goals, without a plan in place your time in the gym is not time well spent. You should sit down with a teacher or coach and discuss what areas of strength or conditioning you would like to improve so that specific exercises can be suggested. Once you have goals in place make sure that you commit to your program, to ensure results it is important that students are willing to put in the time and effort needed to achieve personal goals. As for the actual working out part...any time you start a new sport or activity, start out slowly so that your body gets used to the increase in activity. It’s a good idea to initially perform the exercise without any weight to make sure you're using the proper technique. Once you've mastered the technique, you can gradually add weight as long as you can comfortably perform the exercise for 8 to 15 repetitions.
What type of exercises should I be doing?
As a teenager your biggest mistake would be to take on exercises associated with bodybuilding, it is important that before you start lifting weights to build muscle that you let your body develop. Until your body begins to produce the hormones needed for muscle growth lifting weights with the intention of gaining muscle mass will not give the desired results. Teens who are wanting to start working out should begin with circuits that use individual body weight or resistance bands, eventually moving towards resistance training with weights. Specific exercises can be found on the sample workouts page
Why am I sore after working out, what risks am I taking by working out?
Almost everyone who has ever worked out or will work out has experienced some sort of discomfort during or immediately after exercising. A condition known as DOMS is certainly one of the reasons you may be sore after a workout. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) describes a phenomenon of muscle pain, muscle soreness or muscle stiffness that occurs in the day or two after exercise. This muscle soreness is most frequently felt when you begin a new exercise program, change your exercise routine, or dramatically increase the duration or intensity of your exercise routine.
Delayed onset muscle soreness is thought to be a result of microscopic tearing of the muscle fibers. The amount of tearing (and soreness) depends on how hard and how long you exercise and what type of exercise you do. Any movement you aren't used to can lead to DOMS, but eccentric muscle contractions (movements that cause muscle to forcefully contract while it lengthens) seem to cause the most soreness. Examples of eccentric muscle contractions include going down stairs, running downhill, lowering weights and the downward motion of squats and push-ups. In addition to small muscle tears there can be associated swelling in a muscle which may contribute to soreness.
Although it can be alarming for new exercisers, delayed onset muscle soreness is a normal response to unusual exertion and is part of an adaptation process that leads to greater stamina and strength as the muscles recover and build hypertrophy). This sort of muscle pain is not the same as the muscle pain or fatigue you experience during exercise. Delayed soreness is also unlike the acute, sudden and sharp pain of an injury such as a muscle strains or sprain that occurs during activity and often causes swelling or bruising. In other words, being sore after a workout should not be confused with being injured. The delayed muscle soreness of DOMS is generally at its worst within the first 2 days following a new, intense activity and slowly subsides over the next few days.
Begin by setting goals, without a plan in place your time in the gym is not time well spent. You should sit down with a teacher or coach and discuss what areas of strength or conditioning you would like to improve so that specific exercises can be suggested. Once you have goals in place make sure that you commit to your program, to ensure results it is important that students are willing to put in the time and effort needed to achieve personal goals. As for the actual working out part...any time you start a new sport or activity, start out slowly so that your body gets used to the increase in activity. It’s a good idea to initially perform the exercise without any weight to make sure you're using the proper technique. Once you've mastered the technique, you can gradually add weight as long as you can comfortably perform the exercise for 8 to 15 repetitions.
What type of exercises should I be doing?
As a teenager your biggest mistake would be to take on exercises associated with bodybuilding, it is important that before you start lifting weights to build muscle that you let your body develop. Until your body begins to produce the hormones needed for muscle growth lifting weights with the intention of gaining muscle mass will not give the desired results. Teens who are wanting to start working out should begin with circuits that use individual body weight or resistance bands, eventually moving towards resistance training with weights. Specific exercises can be found on the sample workouts page
Why am I sore after working out, what risks am I taking by working out?
Almost everyone who has ever worked out or will work out has experienced some sort of discomfort during or immediately after exercising. A condition known as DOMS is certainly one of the reasons you may be sore after a workout. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) describes a phenomenon of muscle pain, muscle soreness or muscle stiffness that occurs in the day or two after exercise. This muscle soreness is most frequently felt when you begin a new exercise program, change your exercise routine, or dramatically increase the duration or intensity of your exercise routine.
Delayed onset muscle soreness is thought to be a result of microscopic tearing of the muscle fibers. The amount of tearing (and soreness) depends on how hard and how long you exercise and what type of exercise you do. Any movement you aren't used to can lead to DOMS, but eccentric muscle contractions (movements that cause muscle to forcefully contract while it lengthens) seem to cause the most soreness. Examples of eccentric muscle contractions include going down stairs, running downhill, lowering weights and the downward motion of squats and push-ups. In addition to small muscle tears there can be associated swelling in a muscle which may contribute to soreness.
Although it can be alarming for new exercisers, delayed onset muscle soreness is a normal response to unusual exertion and is part of an adaptation process that leads to greater stamina and strength as the muscles recover and build hypertrophy). This sort of muscle pain is not the same as the muscle pain or fatigue you experience during exercise. Delayed soreness is also unlike the acute, sudden and sharp pain of an injury such as a muscle strains or sprain that occurs during activity and often causes swelling or bruising. In other words, being sore after a workout should not be confused with being injured. The delayed muscle soreness of DOMS is generally at its worst within the first 2 days following a new, intense activity and slowly subsides over the next few days.