Female Fitness for Teens

Exercise is good for everybody, young, old, male or female. Increasing amounts of research point to exercise, especially outdoor, or resistance training exercise, as being especially good for teenage woman.



At a young age women need to "build the bone bank" according to the American College of Sports Medicine, by building strong bones at a young age, women will be less likely to develop osteoporosis later on. Dr. Anne Louckes one of the ACSM position statement authors on young women building the bone bank notes that the teenage years to age 25 seem to be the most important times for young girls to take advantage of building their bone bank.



According to psychologists, exercising also strengthens the mind of young women. Since Title IX (9) was enacted, that forced equal number of sports to be offered for women and men in the United States, the research shows that teens that participate in a sport of their choosing tend to do better in school, have stronger social support, and are more likely to have a high paying job compared to women before Title IX.



While the American culture is often accused of sending a message that exercise is just for boys research shows that at a young age boys and girls exercise about the same amount each week, and that it is during the teenage years that there is a divergence. This stems from the fact that even though Title IX allows for equal opportunity, many girls don’t take advantage, or don’t want to take advantage of the opportunity to play sports.



That is a problem according to exercise physiologists, because women, just as men need regular physical activity to stay healthy. It is important to let young women know that there are many paths to physical fitness throughout life outside of organized sports. Sports like dance, yoga, and long walks are equally good for the mind and body. For young girls it is important for them to find something that they enjoy because it is the start of their adult life and establishing good exercise habits is one strong predictor of health in the long term.



Exercise is a way to get a strong, healthy body. The patterns teens put in place now will give them a track record of health and fitness that will help to fuel their mind, body, and spirit throughout life.



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