What age to start working out

[robyn6002]

Hi. I'm new to the cathe tapes, I'm finishing up a 90 firm rotation and am going to be starting on a cathe/firm rotation. I can't wait I'm getting the new package in a few weeks.

I've got a 14 year old daughter she does field hockey but the season just ended and we want to work out together - what is the recommendation for teeenagers doing cathe tapes. Her goal is not to put on a lot of muscle but to keep fit.

 

[SnowyOwl]

Wow, that's a good question!

I haver read that teenagers (not sure how young) need to be careful about weight training because they are growing so quickly and their joints are still forming, so too much weight training too soon could set them up for potential injury. However, I don't know if that's still true, OR if it's true for a girl your daughter's age, OR if it's true for Cathe's tapes! I'm sure it will have more to do with frequency, intensity, form.

I know that when I was about that age - a little younger - I ran, and played basketball and soccer. For basketball practice we did some modified weight/circuit training - course this was in the 70s so we didn't actually lift serious weights, but we threw medicine balls around, did pushups, old fashioned squat thrusts and I guess plyometrics (hopping back and forth over a bench, etc). I also remember getting some dumbells and following a program I found in a book. I don't THINK it hurt me, but you never know for sure.

The only thing I want to caution about is if she's lean, watch that she doesn't develop ammenorhea (sp?). I did in my last year of high school, not through dieting but through too much activity and since I didn't talk to my mom about such things and I was generally ignorant, I just thought it was convenient. Sure wish I had known better.

Hope you get some other answers - and congratulations for being a fitness role model for your daughter! Mine is barely 2 - but I hope to do the same!

Sophie

 

[ornito]

Wow this question slays me. My nearly seventeen year old daughter won't do a tap. She quit playing soccer this year, so now she does NOTHING. Even though I really am her biological mother, (no one believes it we are SOOO Different) she is the complete opposite body type of me. She is round and pudgy but with nice long legs. She trains up nicely and easily and has a really good running form. She could run rings around me if she'd just get out there and sweat a little. I have been exercising regularly since 1995. I always ask her to run with me or to do a tape with me but she always declines. When she runs errands I try to make her do them on the bike but she always has some compelling reason why she needs the car. What can I do?

 

[Lex411]

Your question actually brough back memories. Get this; when I wa about 13 or 14, there weren't even exercise videos yet, but Jane Fonda had just put out her Workout Book and a record album to accompany the book. What a scream, right? But my mom used to do it and I was intrigued, it sounded like fun and the music was cool. So I started to join her in the Beginner's workout. We had so much fun and eventually, she stopped and I kept going. When the first Fonda video came out, I did those and here I am, 17 years later, still going strong. I didn't really do any weight training until I was about 16 or so, when our gym class rotation took us into the weight room. By that point, it seemed safe and we had good supervision and instruction in how to use the equipment and how to train properly, etc. Not bad for a public high school in Chicago!

Anyway, my point being that I started out that young and I think it was fantastic. It made me see working out as a good thing and something fun from a young age and taught me about my body and how things worked a little bit too. I think as long as you are careful about the weight training aspect (have her work with lighter weights and make sure she knows about form, etc) and as long as you and your daughter know for her to be aware of her perceived exertion and/or heartrate, I can't see how it could be anything but a good thing. I know it was for me. If it weren't for Jane and my mom, who knows if I'd be in such good shape today. The rest of my family is obese, suffers from everything from diabetes to high blood pressure and none of them are active. So why not let her take advantage of growing up in the age of fitness. Personally, I got in on that just under the wire! And speaking from my own experience, it can be a really fun bonding activity for you and your kid. And come next field hockey season, I'll bet she'll really be able to kick butt out there!

And not to slight Cathe (because I do ADORE her workouts) but another terrific instructor who actually has tapes geared towards kids is Mindy Mylrea. I think she has one or two vids for that very thing, just if you're looking for more options.

Hope that helped even a little bit. If not, I had a nice trip down memory lane!

Take care

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Robyn! As far as cardo is concerned, there is nothing wrong with your daughter participating in the activity at a pace that is comfortable for her. She should not force herself to keep up with the intensity of the tapes but rather do whatever she can at a level that feels good to her. But who knows, since field hockey has some intense practices, she may find the tapes a breeze, ;-)!

As for lifting weights, research has concluded that there is no harm in having children lift weights. However, they are still unclear as to whether lifting actually increases a child's strength since they do not believe that children have enough strength related hormones to obtain serious strength improvements.

Now, since you said that your daughter is 14, I'm sure that she is coming into an age where she will actually gain strength improvements. I would recommend keeping the weight training sessions short (no more than 30 minutes a session) and the weight that is being lifted light to medium poundage. I would also suggest supervising these sessions for safety and proper lifting technique.

If doing the CTX series together is what you had in mind, these will be perfect in that they are short on cardio and weight training. Just be sure that you are familiar with each tape before you start it so that you know how much space each workout requires and what equipment and weight poundage you will need per selected body part. Have Fun!