How to Help Your Teen Athlete Build Muscle
High school athletes don’t need the physique of bodybuilders, but developed muscles will help their athletic pursuits. Strong, healthy muscles help young athletes move freely, protect joints and reduce injuries.
The following tips will help you support your teen and build the muscle required for optimized sporting performance.
Book Your Teen a Check-up
No teen should start building muscle without medical advice. Book an appointment for your child with their regular doctor to discuss an appropriate fitness regime.
A physical exam can identify any health issues, like muscle or joint problems and heart concerns, which may impact your plans.
Encourage Core Exercises
Taking a holistic approach to improving core strength is one of the best ways young bodies can build muscle. Encourage your teen to engage in a variety of exercises to work their entire core.
Most teens will instinctively reach for weights, but they’re not for beginners.
This makes it much harder to overdo things. Pull-ups, squats, rowing and push-ups are all excellent options.
Only once your teen has worked out with their body weight for a while, suggest adding weights to the mix. Bench presses work out the chest while shoulder presses concentrate on the shoulders and upper back.
Squats with weights supercharge leg exercises. Deadlifts also engage the legs along with the back muscles.
Advocate Slow Exercise Increases
When it comes to building muscle safely, slow and steady wins the race. It’s natural for enthusiastic teens to take a gung-ho approach to building their muscles, so it’s your job to be a voice of wisdom.
If your child is open to it, suggest hitting the gym together. Working out together is a great way to stay plugged into what your teen is doing.
In addition to providing you with an excellent bonding opportunity. If your child would prefer working out with friends or alone, discuss their exercise routine in detail, so you know what they’re doing, for how long and at what intensity.
Make your child promise to stay at the same level until you suggest upping the ante.
Prepare Protein-Rich Meals
High school athletes need more protein than their peers who aren’t active in sports. The Academy of Nutrition of Dietetics recommends teens consume between 0.5 and 0.8 grams of protein for every pound they weigh.
Make sure your teen is getting the protein they need by preparing meals containing high-quality proteins including beef, poultry, fish, eggs, milk and dairy products. A diet rich in nutritious proteins should safely provide all the protein your teen needs to build muscle.
That means they needn’t take protein supplements, which can make your child dehydrated and overwork the kidneys. While your stepchild is responsible for their body, your efforts can help the muscle-building process along.
With encouragement and effort at home, your stepchild is bound to see results in the big games.
