Fitness and Teens
Homeschooling and fitness for teenagers can be a tough mix. Traditional schooling provides one type of framework with team sports and after school activities. To keep your kids fit and not giving you the eyeroll you’ll have to come up with some out of the box ideas. Here’s a few to get you started …
League sports. Similar to high school athletic programs there are lots of private leagues your kid can join. They might be mixing in with adults or it might be specifically geared to teens. As a kid I couldn’t get enough of soccer and there weren’t any school programs in my town. My Mom found a twice a week league for me to join. The adults were happy to have me and I was challenged to keep up with them. I loved it!
Gym membership. See if your local health club accepts teens. YMCAs almost always do and they can offer family memberships too which are a lot cheaper than joining as individuals. This can be the best of both worlds, your kid gets screen time on the cardio equipment (making them happy) and you know they’re doing something healthy (making you happy!), a win/win for everyone. You can also start teens out with simple weight lifting moves. Don’t mess around here though, make sure your child has a session or two with a personal trainer, they’re still growing and you want to make sure you do it right and don’t set them up for any injuries down the road.
Bike to class activities. You can always incorporate fitness as you bop around from place to place. Instead of driving to the library, grab a bike and sweat a little. You likely won’t need that much more time to get there and the extra exertion will help you focus on your task once you get there.
Pool memberships. If you’re not lucky enough to have a pool in your backyard look for local pools where you can swim. Town facilities are often available, but if not you might find one at a nearby college with hours for the public. Check out the locker facilities and make sure they’re clean and see what they have for swimming programs. From tadpole to Olympian there is likely a program that suits your teen.
Hire a coach and share the costs. Maybe you and a few of your homeschooling friends would like to share the cost of hiring a pro to teach your kids. This can be a great way to save money and develop your child’s skills. Perhaps you could hire a basketball coach to run drills with your kids, or a track coach to help them with their running.
Once you start looking at the possibilities, there are a lot of options out there. Hope these ideas help.
Lisa Johnson is a popular fitness blogger at LisaJohnsonFitness.com. She is also a certified Pilates Instructor and studio owner. She can frequently be found on Twitter @LisaJohnson. Thank you Lisa!
https://lisajohnsonfitness.com
