Encourage Exercise for Teens with Fitness Apps

Smartphones are becoming evermore ingrained into society, making it harder and harder to leave the devices at home. This can be especially true for teens and tweens.

Instead of fighting to free phones from the hands of the young people in your life so they can enjoy some fresh air and exercise, lean into the situation by encouraging exercise for teens with fitness apps.

Fitness apps come in many forms, making it easy to find one that will inspire exercise without generating anxiety from smartphone separation. Whether your teen is motivated by cyber-coaching or friendly competition, health and fitness apps may be just what they need to develop enthusiasm for exercising.

Going the Distance

For teens who like to log miles, distance tracking apps will help them chronicle accurate results while developing challenging courses. Most distance tracking apps work for cyclists and runners and can be used anywhere a cellphone signal is available.

Distance tracking apps often allow users to either track as they go or plan a specific route before heading out the door—a nice option to ensure young athletes stay on a safe path. It's a good idea for you to help your teen plan an appropriate route to confirm busy roads and other risks are avoided.

Video Demos

There are countless video apps that demonstrate exercise for teens with easy-to-follow clips. From yoga for beginners to advanced spinning to boot camp cardio, there is a video app providing visual aids for every type of exercise.

Many apps include motivating music designed to keep the energy up throughout a workout. Some even allow users to choose exercises based on time, calories burned, and weight loss goals.

Cardio Community

Some people are motivated by friendly competition. If your teen loves going head-to-head with their friends, download a community-based fitness app. These apps allow users to track results and celebrate milestones with their friends.

Many community-focused apps also allow users to set group goals. So, instead of competing against one another, teens can work together for greater success. These programs are also ideal for groups training for their first 5K or half-marathon.

Tech Tracker

Fitness apps can track much more than exercise goals. Sleep, nutrition, and even happiness levels can be monitored with the help of wellness technology. Many healthy-living apps include a fitness feature, so users can be sure they experience synergy in all aspects of their wellness plans.

What we eat affects how we work out, which affects how we sleep, and so on. A wellness tracking app can help your teen maximize their potential and better fuel their brain for increased attention in the classroom.

Mindful Meditation

While meditation may not technically be exercise, it can help overactive minds hit the pause button and rejuvenate. Young people are especially susceptible to over-working their brains with constant multi-tasking, which limits productivity, according to LinkedIn. Daily meditation can help them re-center.

Meditation apps include features that help users focus on specific aspects of their minds (memory, anxiety levels, greater concentration, etc.) and customize programs to an individual's needs. A healthy mind encourages a healthy body, so suggest meditation to your teen for a well-rounded wellness regimen.

Rather than fighting to separate teens from their phones, embrace technology with motivating fitness and wellness apps. You can even join in on the fun for weekend treks or nightly yoga sessions. Give it a try!

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