My teenage sons began a force training, which terrified me

My two teenage sons – 16 and 18 years old – recently joined a gymnasium and focus their time on strength training.

Instead of asking “What is dinner?” They say now: “What protein do we have tonight?”

Since they started strength training, the traction bar has been a permanent element on the laundry gate, and they have challenged each other to see who can make the most repetitions. They are also flexing their “pistols” now for any occasion.

When they started, I was concerned about their physical and mental well-being. But I now try to be more open to it.

The idea that my boys raise weights concerned me

When they started at the gymnasium, the idea made me uncomfortable. It looked like an adult activity.

I was mainly concerned about the potential impacts of gym culture – surrounded by guys who swell and obsessed their muscles in mirrors by counting their representatives.

While I recognized that it was good that they were interested in their health and physical form, I was also worried about the potential damages of weightlifting on their growing bodies thanks to poor technique, using incorrect machines or trying to rise heavier than they could due to the pressure of peers.

Part of their call is the social aspect; They never go alone, always meeting friends at the gymnasium before or after school. It is great to see them outside the house and to socialize in real life rather than in line, but my mind is by default the reverse of influencers of social media based on image and the adolescent needs to look in a certain way and to adapt. What if this interest becomes a concern?

Join the gymnasium myself and speak to my coaches helped

After doing research, I learned that strength training can be beneficial for young people. This can help strengthen their muscles, help them maintain healthy weight, protect them from sports -related injuries and maintain low blood pressure, says the Mayo clinic.

To fully understand what my sons get started in, I also joined the gymnasium – but another, so I do not embarrass them. I started training in force for the first time.

It was reassuring to speak to a trainer qualified in the way of supporting my sons with a force training and generally living a healthy lifestyle.

My coaches put my concern that the transition to weightlifting could consist in obtaining good physique rather than general health and physical form in context. My sons are adolescents, so of course, they will worry about their appearance, but I should stay engaged with what they do at the gymnasium and how much.

We do not spend each dinner talking about lifting, but I regularly ask what exercises they do, who guides them and how much they raise.

My coaches also indicated that it is important that strength training is balanced with other activities to give muscles time to rest and recover, so I instilled a rule three times a week and I insisted so that they do not leave the sports of their team.

As for the diet, there is no way to cook steaks or chicken breast books every night, whatever the gym influencers they follow on Instagram. There is a bag of protein powder in the cupboard for post-inches, but we continue to eat a balanced diet with proteins, vegetables and fruits as well as carbohydrates, which are essential to power their growing body.

I hope to instill positive habits

I know that strength training and exercise can lead to obsessive behavior, so I try to teach them to remain positive as their bodies change.

By informing myself and bringing my own gymnasium experience to the conversation, I try to create a positive story on health and strength for people of all ages.

Whenever I become nervous about their gymnasium activities, I remember that they simply leave their screens and move their bodies.