Home circuit training vids for 13 year old son

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MellyLikestoRun
MellyLikestoRun Posts: 83 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
My son has expressed an interest in "working out" and frankly he does need to lose some weight. He really likes just about anything on YouTube, and he has seen some of the videos that I have used from time to time, but I am wondering if there is something out there that would specifically appeal to a teenage boy. I'm thinking he would benefit from a circuit type situation to get him started.

*We do not have the option for a gym membership
* We do have some free weights, bands, and my husband's (beloved ) TRX available.

Any suggestions, folks? I appreciate your responses. And please be kind...this is for my kid, after all. :)
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  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
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    Does he like running?
  • MellyLikestoRun
    MellyLikestoRun Posts: 83 Member
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    It's hard to tell if he likes running, or if he endures it because my husband and I love it. :) I want him to find something that HE enjoys. That's why I was hoping that there was some YouTube videos out there that would appeal to him.
    Thanks for asking. :)
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    Does he have any games consoles he could play fitness games on?

    I'm not sure there are fitness DVDs for teenagers as they shouldn't be doing exercises unsupervised in case they get their form wrong and hurt themselves.

    You could create a bodyweight circuit alternating resistance and cardio and place Post-It notes around the room/garage/garden with a countdown phone alarm set to one minute to switch between them. For example:
    Star jumps
    Push-ups
    Shuttle runs
    Lunges
    Spotty dogs
    Triceps dips on chair

    My friends' teens love karate - would he enjoy a martial arts class?
  • AnotherXFitGuy
    AnotherXFitGuy Posts: 58 Member
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    When my stepson decided he wanted to get in shape, 10 years ago, he started doing "Total Body Sculpting" with Gilad. He did it Mon-Fri and over the next 6 months, transformed into a pretty good athlete. The exercise also motivated him to eat a bit healthier. He's 21 now and still in great shape.
  • LishieFruit89
    LishieFruit89 Posts: 1,956 Member
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    Nerdfitness.com!

    Check out the bodyweight circuit.
    It's squats, lunges, push ups, planks, jumping jacks, and dumbbell (or milk jug) rows. (I might be forgetting one)
    But it's pretty simple and is meant to be repeated.
    As it gets easier, add some weight.
  • summertime_girl
    summertime_girl Posts: 3,945 Member
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    Insanity is great.
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
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    Go outside!
    Go with him, work out in the park, get away from the screen
  • abadvat
    abadvat Posts: 1,241 Member
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    13 year old son needing to loose weight with circuit, weights, game consoles, insanity, nerdifitness?

    Unless the world has changed that much from when I used to be 13 - kids should be outside running, riding their bicycles, playing football, basket ball, rugby.... you name it.

    Kids at 13 have a metabolism on hyper drive - digesting everything within minutes and still being hungry (unless his 13 yo metabolism has already crashed due to wrong food and drinks ingested so far)!
  • abadvat
    abadvat Posts: 1,241 Member
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    Insanity is great.

    insanity for a 13 year old kid??????????????
  • Samstan101
    Samstan101 Posts: 699 Member
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    Try getting him looking at Parkour/ Free running videos and I bet he fancies giving it a go. Running with you & his Dad along with some strength training and he'll be leaping tall buildings ;-)
  • MellyLikestoRun
    MellyLikestoRun Posts: 83 Member
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    Go outside!
    Go with him, work out in the park, get away from the screen

    Yep - we do that kind of thing when the weather breaks, but it's kind of tough when there is ice EVERYWHERE, thus the indoor workouts.
    Thanks :)
  • michellewelch2010
    michellewelch2010 Posts: 147 Member
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    When I was a teenager my mom put me in boxing at a local boxing club. Amazing workout and high discipline. The guy charged 40 bucks a month and ran it out of his garage. She never let me actually spar, but I trained with the rest of them. Never felt like working out but the fitness level I achieved during this time was top notch and had a good social aspect to it.
  • michellewelch2010
    michellewelch2010 Posts: 147 Member
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    Or Sworkit is a free download from apple if he has an iPod touch, iPhone or iPad. Great app for circuit training. Many different workout options on it.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    Has he expressed any particular interest in one of the videos he's tried? I would think that'd be a good starting point.

    My first thought was something martial arts related too - kickboxing, maybe even tae-bo. It's functional and fun.

    I'll also agree with some sort of at home body weight circuit like the one linked above from nerdfitness. Put on your favorite tunes and get movin'!
  • nancybuss
    nancybuss Posts: 1,461 Member
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    Hey fellow Michigander.

    Yeah, there's only so much we can do outside right now with our snow/ice/cold.

    Beachbody does have a program called "for the kids" but he may actually be a bit old for it.

    Out of their programs I'm thinking Combat. Its Fun, its kicking, its punching, and you feel 'bad' doing it. Its a combo of all the martial arts.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    Does he do sports? Why not just get him involved in a sport? If he doesn't like team sports then look into swimming and track and martial arts.
  • rayfu75
    rayfu75 Posts: 209 Member
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    If he has any interests in specific sports you may want to do a search for a conditioning program for it on youtube. I use some solo drilling / movement drills for grappling that are a great workout when I can't get to the gym. I have a 5 and 9 yr old that I sneak in workouts with and they don't really see it as working out. I'll challenge them both to push up, sit up or air squat contests. See who can do the most in a certain amount of time. I seem to be able to keep them going when they "win" a few in the beginning so they let me try to "win" at least once. I'd say doing body weight exercises would be the way to go for sure. No real need to use a bunch of weight at 13.
  • aprilyankee
    aprilyankee Posts: 345 Member
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    Ah people are so judgmental. My stepson is overweight, I get so many looks we go places. We get him 2 weekends a month. But he has expressed desires to lose weight and get fit because he is playing football. He likes to play pass with the football or baseball out in the yard weather permitting. I take him walking with me and the dog and we jog small bits "so the dog gets some exercise". If they aren't having fun they won't do it. They are kids. And not all kids have a super star metabolism.
  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
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    The BeFit a Channel on YouTube has some programs that are led by male trainers, or both a male and female. I like them. I'd definitely get his doc to clear him for that type of stuff, first, though.
  • sanjoparolas
    sanjoparolas Posts: 557 Member
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    I have a 13 year old son too, so this is a great topic for me to learn from. I bought a pull-up bar and an assist strap (for me!), and he liked that at first. Apparently he is bored of it now but I still use it! I also got the TabataPro app for a dollar or two which measures 8 short intervals with very short rests in between. We have both done these on the home exercise bike, but when that was down for repairs, I did the intervals by running in place so that can work too. My son lost interest in this too, but at least he has tried these activities and knows they can be fun and he is capable of doing them. He loves to go to the local Airsoft arena and shoot at his friends (protective gear required - kind of like paintball), but that is another thing he only does occasionally. He ran cross country last year but declined this year. So I guess he has at least has tried some things (and he loves PE at school) but nothing has really clicked yet . . .

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