We understand how hard it can be to get anyone to leave their warm and cozy spot and trade it for getting more active—especially for a teenager.

The majority of teens don’t get enough exercise, but we can help you change that. All it takes is finding the right activity to spark their interest for the phones and game controllers to be put away.

Read on to learn about five activities that just might ignite a new passion within your teen.

 

1. Group Fitness

Striving to stick to your fitness goals at any age can be a challenge. Sometimes, all we need is just other people’s energy or words of encouragement to help us stay motivated—that’s the beauty of group fitness.

At the Y, we happily welcome teens to participate in our group fitness classes! These classes provide a unique experience to work on personal health while enjoying a motivating, upbeat, and inviting group environment. With options like BodyPump, Cardio Party, Zumba, and Barre, your teen is sure to find something they will love. Plus, all our classes have professional instructors and provide cardio, calorie-burning, or toning movements all while having fun.

Group fitness is a great way to keep your teen active and make new friends. They are bound to connect with other members, get a pat on the back, or catch a smile from a fellow classmate that just might make their day.

 

2. Aquatics

Getting involved in aquatic workouts is like sneaking vegetables into a smoothie! Working out in water is fun and is great for strength and cardio training. Plus, they’ll love our hot tubs and sauna!

Keep your teen active with positive and upbeat classes like Aquarobics, Aqua Zumba, Aquarock, and so much more. If your teen is motivated by the water, great music, and developing muscle, our aquatics center is the place to be.

 

3. Sports Leagues

For a competitive teen, the feeling of being part of a team, making a last second basket, or tagging the last player in dodgeball is exhilarating—and it also builds leadership and communication skills.

It’s easy to keep your teen active with Y sports leagues. With basketball and dodgeball leagues, your teen will have the opportunity to discover working out doesn’t have to include a treadmill! Once they discover how much fun team sports leagues can be, you won’t have to worry about convincing them to get up off the couch. They’ll begin reminding you to pick up and drop them off at practice!

 

4. Open Gym

There’s a possibility that your teen may not yet know what activities they want to be involved in—which makes open gym a great time to explore a lot of different activities. Here’s what you can look forward to during open gym at the Y.

• Opportunities to play basketball, volleyball, and more
• Space to bring friends or meet new ones
• An indoor track above the gym for walking, jogging, or running
• A place to enjoy activities during the cold winter
• Great hours to let you work out when you want

Whether your teen chooses to play a game of pick-up basketball with their friends or jog a few laps around the track, you can be sure they’ll find a way to stay active and have fun during open gym.

 

5. Learning Kitchen

Who knew chopping up vegetables, walking back and forth to the refrigerator, and sampling your own food could count as physical activity? But it is!

If you find that your teen enjoys watching the food network or helping you in the kitchen with dinner on a regular basis, you should introduce them to our learning kitchen. We offer hands-on lessons and cooking tutorials on how to prepare healthy, delicious, mouth-watering meals for you to replicate at home. Whether you decide to join in and make it a fun bonding activity or allow them to take the class on their own, discovering new ways to make healthy meals will set your teen up for a healthier future.

 

From sports leagues to the aquatic center, the Y can help you keep your teen active. And they just might find themselves to be a master chef after spending some time in our learning kitchen.

With a YMCA teen membership, they will have access to everything YMCA offers—including swimming lessons, group fitness classes, open gym, sports leagues, family nights, special events, nationwide access, and so much more.

With two locations in Lafayette, Indiana, the Lafayette Family YMCA is a community committed to healthy living and social responsibility. For more fitness tips and to stay up-to-date about YMCA events, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram, or visit our website.