It’s Never Too Young to Start Thinking About Muscle – Talking to Your Kids About Muscle and Fitness

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If fitness and a pursuit of healthy, attractive muscle mass are a big part of your life, then your kids are likely to be curious about it. While obviously muscle develops differently after puberty because of hormonal changes and there is no way a pre-pubescent child can really start working on their own ‘buff’ physique, they can still take an active interest in the kind of workouts required, and see benefits from them, as well as learning about the importance of good nutrition and lean muscle. Kids can also learn a lot about the relationship between muscle training and their performance in their favorite sports, which can help them work towards their own personal goals if they fancy themselves as a candidate for a future athletes-usa college sports scholarship!

Here are some things to think about when you talk to your kids about your own training, and muscle fitness in general.

Set Expectations

If a child looks up to their favorite athletes, or even very fit people they know (perhaps even you!), they may dream of being able to lift and having the kind of physique these people have. Of course, this is something they’ll have to wait until after puberty for, no matter how much they train, and so it is important to explain the differences between children’s and adults’ bodies and why they should have different expectations while they are still young. Just as a young girl who admires a favorite pop star or actress with womanly curves will have to wait to develop in those areas, a child who aspires to a muscular physique – male or female – will also have to wait!

Teach them How to Train

While becoming ‘built’ will be a project for the future, a child can still develop a better physique and improve their sports performance by doing strength training, and so if they are interested and you have good technique yourself, there is no harm in getting them started in learning how to lift. This can be a good opportunity to teach them some anatomy and biology that may expand on what they learn at school too, as you teach them about the differences between anaerobic and aerobic exercise, and the muscles they can train. Learning good form and how to match training to goals is certain to set them up for a good future in fitness too, so getting them excited about lifting is never a bad thing, as long as you are careful to be safe.

Nutrition

Kids should learn to be aware of the make up of the things in their diet and what they do within the body, but beyond being a useful science lesson, teaching them about the role of things like proteins in nutrition will also set them up to make healthier food choices when you’re not around. Of course, enjoying treats is an important part of being a child, so even if you are totally off carbs, try not to get them into that kind of mindset just yet!

Training with your kids can be a great way to teach them all kinds of useful stuff and can also be fun, so if your child shows an interest, why not spend some time talking about muscle and working out?

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