physical activity options for non-sporty teen - martial arts classes?

[Anonymous]

My 15 yr old and I are starting boxing next week! Can’t find appropriate age class so he and I are doing private training once week. Hoping it will be good bonding activity. Boxing is a great workout.

[Anonymous]

In addition to the suggestions already made, I'd look for very active hobbies that don't really seem like exercise at all. A lot of performance arts are like this -- does he have any interest in theater? Circus?

Or find ways to just create incidental exercise. Encourage walking to friend's house and school, or if it's too far to walk, encourage public transportation (he's old enough, and using public transportation still involves a lot of walking/standing/etc.). Send him on errands to the store or other places he can walk. Take vacations that involve lots of sightseeing by foot, hiking, biking, etc.

Some people don't like exercising just for exercise. I was like that when I was younger -- I hated the gym. I liked sports and dance though, so that kept me active. But in adulthood, I went through periods where I wasn't doing any sports. But I've always gotten lots and lots of incidental exercise -- walking everywhere, biking to work because it's cheaper and faster, carrying groceries to my 3rd floor walk up, etc. You can set up your life so that exercise is naturally built into your life, and it can keep you pretty fit without ever having to exercise on purpose.

[Anonymous]

Where do you live? That would help in providing suggestions.

[Anonymous]

I was this kid. I would expose him to as many activities as possible and see what he likes. Try to connect things he likes with activities and go from there. If you are worried about him needing to start an activity as a beginner, you can always get a few private lessons so he can have some experience before jumping into a group class.

Things I loved (and still do as an adult):
swimming
rock climbing in a gym
hiking + backpack camping
yoga

[Anonymous]

Parkour! Lots of beginners are older, and once he learns the moves safely in a gym he can practice anywhere.

[Anonymous]

+1 for rock climbing

[Anonymous]

Start by just improving fitness. That is the baseline for all physical activities. Have a check up to make sure his health is generally good.

Look at a local gym/fitness center. Something close by so he can get there with minimal fuss. Easy to drop off. Easy to pick up. Pay to get instruction on machines - basic trainer stuff consistent with his age. Go three times a week. He won’t turn into a strongman ready for the circus, but by summer he will be ready to do other things too.

If he is not already a good swimmer - look into a facility where teens/adults can take lessons and swim laps. Again, not looking to join the swim team, but having the ability and confidence to jump into a pool and have fun swimming is a lifelong skill.

Once he has some base level fitness - then he can keep moving along. School sports that can be worthwhile to look into are the no cut sports; x-country, track, wrestling, swimming. No one is looking for a 15 year old to do much in any of those. Participate, be social, work hard while doing it, have some fun.

School sports are great because they are easy to do. With some background working out in a gym under his belt he can make the shift into using the school’s weightroom. One thing to keep an eye out for - there is a lot of steroid and not very good for you supplements floating around weight rooms - particularly at schools. Have a firm understanding that you and he will consult his doctor about what to take and what to avoid. (One of my kids does regional lifting competitions now and it the drugs are all over the place.) On the other hand - my youngest is on a cliff jumping quest now. I could do without that, but he is putting that swimming to use - as well as camping a lot (the spots are often well off the beaten path.)

[Anonymous]

Do you have an indoor trampoline center near you? We live out of the area now and ours has a monthly pass that you can buy. We have friends that got their 12 yr old son the pass as a way for him to get exercise without "working out" or doing a sport. It worked very well and he lost 30 pounds over the course of the year and his core body strength improved by leaps and bounds. By the time he got to high school he was confident enough to play a sport. We have a trampoline in our yard and I tried jumping for 5 minutes and it is hard work if you are out of shape. But most kids think of it as fun not as working out.

[Anonymous]

One of my kids has always hated sports and is not coordinated. He’s always loved to walk, so it wasn’t like he never got any physical activity, and he does theater, as well. But he was never interested in—in fact, he was actively resistant to—any sort of organized physical activity or exercise. I stopped making suggestions a few years ago.

Then at 16 he decided on his own that he wanted to start doing regular exercise. We have a Peloton subscription, so he’s been taking strength and stretching classes 3-4 days/week. In talking with him about it, he expressed how much he hates other people seeing him exercise, which helped me understand why he was always so resistant to classes or group activities. But he really, really likes the exercise and talks about how great he feels after doing it. Now he’s talking about starting to run in the spring. We’ll see!

I guess I’m suggesting two things, OP: First, if your son’s really resistant to a group class, consider that he might, like my son, be self-conscious and find group exercise unpleasant. Second, he might come to this on his own; peer pressure can be magical. My son said that his friends (also non-athletic) were talking about the different ways they exercised, and I think it was the first time he really understood that non-sporty people exercised, too.

[Anonymous]

PP has good suggestions. I would say its better to teach regular fitness versus any set activity. One of my kids runs on the treadmill or walks outside. Great since he does it on his own and now does it at college and can do it wherever he lives.

[Anonymous]

For martial arts, check out judo. It is often a less expensive alternative, less popular than jiu jitsu but there is much cross-over but many, many people start later. The plus is, you get hands-on pretty much instantly, and the initial warm-up alone is a real workout.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At 14, a kid should be with either persons of relatively similar age/size or with adults, not little kids.

If the instructor is regularly using class time to ramble on about character building, you’re in the wrong place. Traditionally, the character building comes from the practice itself.

Once upon a time, martial arts classes met for 2 hours, three times a week, and about half of that was stretching, calisthenics, forms and other vigorous structured activity. The modern economic model typically doesn’t allow for all that, but any school worth attending will have time dedicated to what amounts to exercise.

The most important question isn’t whether you’re interested in martial arts for him, it’s whether he’s interested in martial arts. Perseverance and enthusiasm are much more important in martial arts than fabulous athletic gifts.

Local recreational programs often offer good classes. If I was looking, I’d suggest judo, an Olympic sport with practical applications that include how to fall if you slip on ice. Brazilian Joy-Jitsu is ubiquitous and very popular. Aikido appeals to more interior minded folks. There are many styles of Karate. I think the Japanese styles are the best organized. But as long as you find a facility with a decent enrollment and a serious instructor committed at preserving and advancing the art (not just teaching pee wees), he should do well if he is interested.

PP. Ha, I should have just seconded your opinions.
I wish there were serious classes at this level - even if not 2 hours long - for younger kids too. Mine are small and my trial jiu jitsu class left much to be desired for me, to be honest.

But that's off topic.

[Anonymous]

JROTC. Best program ever. My son loves it. He HATES sports. His goal is to be a Navy SEAL, though, so he's got a lot of personal motivation going on to help him succeed.