Perhaps the most common and the best time to start your calisthenic journey is during your teen years. You are not only young and able to take in tons of information, but these are the years when you can best physically adapt and grow into an extremely strong version of yourself. However, while you might be young and ready to take on the world, this will usually mean less overall knowledge, especially in this area. In a world of fitness and exercise, not possessing enough knowledge about the matter can not only dampen your results, but it may even result in injury. But fear not, for in this article I will go over the vital steps you will need to take to start calisthenics as a teenager. This will include your workout plan, diet plan, and other tips you may need to know to execute this perfectly!
The Workout Plan As a Teenager
When you first begin with calisthenics as a teenager, you may, at some point, become overwhelmed by the sheer number of workouts you can do. Not only will a large number of workouts overwhelm you, but the attention to detail you must put in will too.
That being said, here is a list of the key factors you will need to consider when beginning your workout plan.
- Pay attention to form. With every exercise you do, you must pay attention to your form. It helps to prevent injury, and it will help you develop pure strength and progress with each lift you do. To help ensure proper form, be sure to learn the exact movement for each exercise and then build yourself up slowly. Perform each exercise slowly until you have mastered the form.
- Always warm-up beforehand. Warming is important for a few reasons, one, it helps loosen tight muscle fibers, two, it encourages better form, and three, it warms up the synovial fluid in between your joints which can improve joint mobility. To effectively warm-up, consider performing a short 30-second version of the exercises you mean to perform. Execute the warm-up slowly and carefully.
- Choose your exercises accordingly. If you want to start calisthenics as a teenager. You must only pick the exercises that fit your goals. For instance, If you want to develop a strong and wide back, performing ring flyes will not help you. To avoid wasting your time and energy, be sure to pick out the correct exercises.
The Diet Plan
As you are probably aware, your workout plan is only one piece of the pie. Without an effective diet plan, your entire program will fall apart. This will occur for the very simple reason that you aren’t giving your body the nutrition it needs to grow.
So, if nutrition is a grey area for you, allow me to help you out in three easy steps!
- Calculate your protein intake. For a long time now, the aspect of how much protein you need to optimally build muscle and maintain a big frame has long been unanswered; well, sort of. There have certainly been a wide array of numbers thrown about but what would seem most optimal is aiming for around 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight.
- Be sure to hydrate. Staying hydrated is extremely important for so many reasons. For example, being hydrated is important for maintaining healthy BP – (blood pressure). Being hydrated also helps to ensure that the synovial fluid does its job. In this case, staying hydrated will optimize your performance as it optimizes all bodily functions.
- Try to consume enough carbs. In case you aren’t aware, calisthenics is a very physically exerting form of exercise. It usually involves movements and holds that place a great demand on larger muscle groups. For you to have enough energy to endure all this, your muscles will glycogen, the water-based form of sugar that can only be obtained from carbohydrates.
Things to Consider As a Teenager
While the two pointers listed above are the most important, there are other considerations you must make before starting your calisthenics program.
One of these factors is sleep. If you have trouble sleeping and this is a regular occurrence for you, you might want to re-think taking part in a calisthenics program. Sleep is the foundation of repair and growth and if you can’t get enough, you will struggle.
Consult with your doctor and try to get your insomnia fixed before starting an exercise program.
Secondly, consider your joint health. Listen, as mentioned earlier, calisthenics is a very demanding form of exercise. It not only places a lot of pressure on a wide array of muscle groups but your joints too.
Summary
As a teenager, the world is your oyster. You are not only in a situation where anything is possible but you will likely be ready to embrace that notion. However, since we are only human, we must all approach such things with the same level of caution and maturity.
So, because of this very factor, you should find the information and plans listed above very useful. If you follow every step as carefully as you can, you will certainly get yourself off to a great start!
Finally, please keep in mind the considerations I listed above. Doing so will help to ensure that you start calisthenics as a teenager with as much care as possible.
