Youth Training Foundations — Part 1
A gym membership gives them access. It does not automatically give them guidance.
More teenagers than ever are becoming interested in the gym, strength training and improving their fitness.
In many ways, this is brilliant.
Exercise can help young people become stronger, more confident and more capable. It can support their sporting performance and help them develop habits they can use throughout their lives.
But there is one important question:
Who is teaching them how to exercise correctly?
A gym membership gives them access to equipment. Social media gives them thousands of exercise ideas. Their friends may show them the workouts they are doing.
But none of these automatically teaches them:
- How to squat, hinge, push and pull correctly.
- How to control their back and pelvis.
- How much weight is appropriate.
- How quickly they should progress.
- Which exercises are suitable for their current ability.
- How to recognise when their technique is beginning to change.
The goal is not to frighten teenagers away from exercise. It is to give them a better start — the foundations every young person should develop before concentrating on heavier weights or more advanced workouts.
Want to see where your teen currently stands? Try our Youth Movement Scorecard — a quick way to check how their squat, hinge and control patterns measure up before they add more weight to the bar.
Eoin
Dr. Eoin Everard
Founder of BackAware
Chartered Physiotherapist and PhD in Biomechanics
P.S. See it in action
I am the founder of the BackAware Belt, a wearable technology that provides instant feedback on back position during exercise. Here is a quick one-minute video showing how it works:
(Can't see the video above? Watch it on YouTube.)