My daughter wants to join the gym

[BBR100]

Need some suggestions/tips on setting her up with a program that'll be as much fun as possible and keep her motivated.

She just turned 12 and carrying a few extra pounds.

I've had her in dance/ballet, soccer, karate and skating but she's not the most coordinated. She wouldn't quit but doesn't want to continue the following year.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[the_alcatraz]

Props bro, that's awesome. Not too sure about what kind of program a 12-yr old girl can do though, but just the fact that she showed interest is great. Don't let her lose that.

 

[PhoenixS]

Do you have classes at your gym? I think she may enjoy that since lots of classes are kind of dance/kickbox/etc. They are really fun and you get a good workout.

 

[trex74]

That's an interesting question. I looked that up on the net and there's lots of info there...
Also, sometimes that is an "awkward" age where the baby fat has not yet come off. I had that issue despite being active in sports too, but once i hit my growth spurt and grew 6 inches it all evened out in the end.

 

[musclemom]

Need some suggestions/tips on setting her up with a program that'll be as much fun as possible and keep her motivated.

She just turned 12 and carrying a few extra pounds.

I've had her in dance/ballet, soccer, karate and skating but she's not the most coordinated. She wouldn't quit but doesn't want to continue the following year.

Thanks in advance for your help.

I'm curious, any chance your daughter is above average in height for her age? I ask because I grew really fast and I was an utter clutz (still am, to a degree). It's a biological thing.

Anyway, I'd let her do the same things I'd have a woman do, but that's me I think the crap about kids not lifting weights is just that. I can't see any harm in kids lifting weights as long as they're taught proper form. I virtually grew up on a farm, I did very physically demanding things and I would have loved to have been let loose in the weight room when I was a young 'un. If you have her do the same basic programs you're doing (obviously with smaller weight) she'll stick with it to both please you and it'll be a bonding experience.

One of the best whole body exercises is swimming, and it's not as boring as dry land cardio. Jumping rope is very demanding. What about taking up biking as a family, or rock climbing? How does she feel about involvement in team sports?

Worst comes to worst, what about getting her a dog, one that needs a LOT of walking

 

[BBR100]

Do you have classes at your gym? I think she may enjoy that since lots of classes are kind of dance/kickbox/etc. They are really fun and you get a good workout.

There are classes but most have older ladies in them.

I'll do them with her if that will help.

Thanks!

 

[BBR100]

That's an interesting question. I looked that up on the net and there's lots of info there...
Also, sometimes that is an "awkward" age where the baby fat has not yet come off. I had that issue despite being active in sports too, but once i hit my growth spurt and grew 6 inches it all evened out in the end.

She's average height but a little overweight, not much.
She's at that age where I'm careful not too make it a big deal but she's aware of it and has been really good with eating smaller portions and staying away from junk.
Being healthy is #1 but I'm concerned others may poke fun at her because of her weight. I'm careful to present it as a healthy lifestyle.

 

[BBR100]

I'm curious, any chance your daughter is above average in height for her age? I ask because I grew really fast and I was an utter clutz (still am, to a degree). It's a biological thing.

Anyway, I'd let her do the same things I'd have a woman do, but that's me I think the crap about kids not lifting weights is just that. I can't see any harm in kids lifting weights as long as they're taught proper form. I virtually grew up on a farm, I did very physically demanding things and I would have loved to have been let loose in the weight room when I was a young 'un. If you have her do the same basic programs you're doing (obviously with smaller weight) she'll stick with it to both please you and it'll be a bonding experience.

One of the best whole body exercises is swimming, and it's not as boring as dry land cardio. Jumping rope is very demanding. What about taking up biking as a family, or rock climbing? How does she feel about involvement in team sports?

Worst comes to worst, what about getting her a dog, one that needs a LOT of walking

She's game for team sports but "clutzy" and feels she's not great. She's not but I explain to her that's not important. Still, I feel she may be doing it more for me.

Swimming is good. Biking in the winter, not so much.
She's been to the gym with me and fascinated by stairclimbers and elliptical machines.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[trex74]

Now that I think of it, when I was 12-13, there was an organization called Women and Sport. We did all sorts of sports, and it was all girls. Softball, badminton, volleyball, basketball...it was a lot of fun. Because it was all-girls, we didn't really worry about being clutzy in front of each other.
Now, I just looked them up. They are called the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity. Their American counterparts are the Women's Sports Foundation- there is a resource list here:
Parent's Resource List - Women's Sports Foundation

 

[nefertiti]

I'm curious, any chance your daughter is above average in height for her age? I ask because I grew really fast and I was an utter clutz (still am, to a degree). It's a biological thing.

Anyway, I'd let her do the same things I'd have a woman do, but that's me I think the crap about kids not lifting weights is just that. I can't see any harm in kids lifting weights as long as they're taught proper form. I virtually grew up on a farm, I did very physically demanding things and I would have loved to have been let loose in the weight room when I was a young 'un. If you have her do the same basic programs you're doing (obviously with smaller weight) she'll stick with it to both please you and it'll be a bonding experience.

One of the best whole body exercises is swimming, and it's not as boring as dry land cardio. Jumping rope is very demanding. What about taking up biking as a family, or rock climbing? How does she feel about involvement in team sports?

Worst comes to worst, what about getting her a dog, one that needs a LOT of walking

I disagree with letting kids do the same things adults do. While his child is of the age I would START letting things happen, there is a reason in my ballet academy that we did not allow anyone under the age of 12 to go on pointe. Proper form or no, you can do a lot more damage to your joints and bones at a young age than you can when you get older. Often your muscle growth has not caught up to your skeletal growth and this can lead to "proper form" being almost impossible.

At her age the best thing to do for her, if she's not interested in sports, is get her doing classes. It will limit her to mostly body weight resistance, learning her body and her movement capabilities, and will keep her active. But I do feel at her age she NEEDS to be in an at least lightly supervised atmosphere with limited stress on her joints.

 

[superqt4u2nv]

I was over weight as a child and my Mom helped me out with a diet plan when I was about 11 I followed it and dropped the weight with just a little activiaty after that I became more active on my own. I actually started doing things like buns of steel when I was 12 I have always had to work at it to stay in shape. Teach her good eating habits first as well as being active focus more on things like light weight lifting and cardio. I did start lifting heavier weights at 15 when I first joined a gym.

 

[musclemom]

I disagree with letting kids do the same things adults do. While his child is of the age I would START letting things happen, there is a reason in my ballet academy that we did not allow anyone under the age of 12 to go on pointe. Proper form or no, you can do a lot more damage to your joints and bones at a young age than you can when you get older. Often your muscle growth has not caught up to your skeletal growth and this can lead to "proper form" being almost impossible.

At her age the best thing to do for her, if she's not interested in sports, is get her doing classes. It will limit her to mostly body weight resistance, learning her body and her movement capabilities, and will keep her active. But I do feel at her age she NEEDS to be in an at least lightly supervised atmosphere with limited stress on her joints.

We'd need a physical therapist, orthopedist or exercise physiologist in here for a professional opinion. The question of "what age can weight training begin" crops up on over the years and nobody can point to specific studies. You've got highly educated opinions, sure, but nothing truly concrete. Personally, I think girls can start earlier than boys because their skeletons are pretty much done growing by 12/13 and once they get their periods the excess estrogen closes their growth plates. That's the prime time to build bone density

If you're going to talk about what's harder on the body, ballet wins, no question (gymnastics, too). I can point to many, many weight lifters who still continue to do so well beyond the age of 50 (I've got congenital back problems and weight training has kept me functional as well as surgery and painkiller free). Ballerinas are done by what? 35? 40? And their bodies are generally wrecked before that career is over. There's a world of difference between ballet and functional strength exercises. Ballet is asking the body to do something absolutely unnatural whereas properly lifting weights, including body weight, is natural (which is why the President's Counsel on Fitness tests strength by having a kid do bent arm hangs).

One of the main causes of osteoporosis is lack of weight bearing exercise, particularly from the teens to 20s, the main bone building years (meanwhile, excessive aerobic exercise, particularly marathon type activities, encourages bone depletion). Your body needs weight bearing exercise to develop properly, the same as it needs vitamin C.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying force kids to go do squats and goodmornings, but personally I see no purpose to discouraging a genuine interest in young teens, particularly young women.

 

[nefertiti]

MM, we don't actualy disagree. The ballet school of thought is also that at 12/13 you can start stressing the (female) body. I just get scared by the idea of anyone younger than 14/15 dealing with weights. I think at 12/13 it's good enough to get them doing really physical cardiovascular type stuff and really developing an awareness of their pubescent bodies.

As far as stress on the body...ballet is 100% unnatural angles and movement, so you are right there. But the factor in pointe work is bone strenth and muscle development in the ankles and legs.

 

[musclemom]

MM, we don't actualy disagree. The ballet school of thought is also that at 12/13 you can start stressing the (female) body. I just get scared by the idea of anyone younger than 14/15 dealing with weights. I think at 12/13 it's good enough to get them doing really physical cardiovascular type stuff and really developing an awareness of their pubescent bodies.

As far as stress on the body...ballet is 100% unnatural angles and movement, so you are right there. But the factor in pointe work is bone strenth and muscle development in the ankles and legs.

Well, this IS a weight training board, Nef, I'm entitled to my biase I don't see that getting on a treadmill, elliptical, stair climber or even trying some weight machines (assuming she's over 5'5") is going to hurt her, particularly considering schools that have it in the budget are getting professional style gym equipment in for the students.

A personal aside, while I get that ballet is an old art form, it doesn't do a thing for me, never has. Unlike weight training, not everyone can do it, much less be good at it (and we won't even get into the eating disorders side of things that plagues serious dancers). To me it's elitist, since not only do you need talent, but even if you're the best dancer on the planet, if you weren't genetically gifted with the "ideal" body type, you will never be great, end of discussion.

In the end, the world (and mindset) of a dancer is nothing like someone who moves iron.

 

[nefertiti]

Well, this IS a weight training board, Nef, I'm entitled to my biase I don't see that getting on a treadmill, elliptical, stair climber or even trying some weight machines (assuming she's over 5'5") is going to hurt her, particularly considering schools that have it in the budget are getting professional style gym equipment in for the students.

A personal aside, while I get that ballet is an old art form, it doesn't do a thing for me, never has. Unlike weight training, not everyone can do it, much less be good at it (and we won't even get into the eating disorders side of things that plagues serious dancers). To me it's elitist, since not only do you need talent, but even if you're the best dancer on the planet, if you weren't genetically gifted with the "ideal" body type, you will never be great, end of discussion.

In the end, the world (and mindset) of a dancer is nothing like someone who moves iron.

lol really? As someone who was never in that world....you really can't say that. As a former ballerina, I would say my toughness with dance, and pushing my body translates VERY well to my love of weight lifting.

Ballet was a huge and positive part of my life, and your comment about the ideal body type can go for ANY sort of physical activity. You can have talent with anything but genetics are always going to be what pushes you to the next level. Same with training.

Let's not hijack the thread. I was offering a bridge between our two trains of thought, stop trying to bulldoze it, woman!

 

[BBR100]

Thank you all for your suggestions/advice.

The plan is to let her experiment with whatever interests her.
Mostly machines and bodyweight exercises and some classes to begin with.

I'll be supervising and training with her.
It would be great if she could find a friend who was also interested.

If anyone has any more ideas i'd welcome them.