Fitness ‘stuff’ for teen boy - any ideas

[ShatteredDream]

Ds is almost 16 and suddenly interested in getting fit. He’s asked for fitness ‘stuff’ he can use in his room. But he has no idea what this stuff is…
Any ideas what I can get him that seems like a gift but will fit the brief

my 12 year old son is being assessed for ADHD so I get the v. skinny, not liking teams thing. Could you offer to pay for martial arts or kick boxing for him? It helps with social skills but isn't team based like football. DS loves his kick boxing sessions, then it's not all based in his bedroom.

@PineappleWilson

my 12 year old son is being assessed for ADHD so I get the v. skinny, not liking teams thing. Could you offer to pay for martial arts or kick boxing for him? It helps with social skills but isn't team based like football. DS loves his kick boxing sessions, then it's not all based in his bedroom.

The right martial arts club is great for fitness and in a good club they don't need to enter competitions unless they want to get up to the higher belts. ds had a rock solid stomach when he used to go to karate, they also ran a fitness class alternating each week between circuit training and boxing style exercise, but he dropped it when his friends stopped going.

Skipping rope

Can be difficult to use indoors, but small, cheap and surprisingly useful. He'd only need a very small space outdoors to use it

Thanks @weallhavewings

Stationary bike?

Thank you all for the fab ideas, he’s a bit of a homebody and not keen to go to any clubs. I’ve had a look at the trx which looks fab, Amazon also have resistance bands that attach to a door in a similar way, not sure the difference between the two tbh 😐
He would love a pull up bar, he really wants one but we are in a rental so can’t fix anything to the door

Kettle Bell and kettle bell cards that give you exercises on them to do .

Resistance bands are stretchy, OP. Like big elastic bands. You pull against the stretch, with one end held stationary; different bands are different levels of stretchy, so the exercises can be altered in intensity depending on how much elastic band you allow yourself, and how easy it is to stretch it.

TRX/suspension trainers (TRX itself is very expensive and no better than many of the cheaper alternatives, but make sure that what you buy fixes over a door, if he's a homebody) are essentially just a flat rope with a split, and handles with a length 'slider'. You hook it over the door, set it to the right length, for, say, press ups or pull ups, and it's as if you have a bar there to lean on or hang off. You adjust the exercise intensity by moving your body position (for example, a horizontal press up is much harder than a nearly-standing one)

I'd say that if you want to do 10 exercises, you'll probably need a variety of resistance bands, but you'd only need 1 TRX/resistance trainer.

Lots of pull up bars can be put up/taken down per use, and don't need any fixings. www.amazon.co.uk/TUOKE-Leverage-Strength-Training-Equipment/dp/B0965TFQ28/?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

I'm really into the idea of working out at home, as you can probably tell! This sort of thing makes changing the weight you're using much easier (just flick a switch and it picks up the right amount, rather than screwing them on and off, and leaving them scattered all over the floor)
www.amazon.co.uk/CENSUNG-Adjustable-Dumbbells-Increased-Training/dp/B08YN9BJK8?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

@marchingtotheend2021 thank you for the link to pull-up bar, it's exactly what I didn't know my DS needed

@TheFoundations

Thanks so much, so I think I may go for a cheaper version of the trx style suspension trainer on Amazon, would you recommend buying the bands as well as this then? As it sounds like there are benefits to both.
Those adjustable weights look amazing but a little over budget for now, I’d rather make sure he’s going to get into it properly before splashing out so much, it’s his birthday in a few months so maybe then.
Tempted by the pull up bar that doesn’t need fixing! As he wants one, but…. wondering if he would actually be able to use it, pull ups look hard!

If he has a bit of outside space skipping ropes are fantastic for fitness-not like the ones we used in primary school-they've come a long way!!
Could pop one in his stocking?

Tempted by the pull up bar that doesn’t need fixing! As he wants one, but…. wondering if he would actually be able to use it, pull ups look hard!

Use resistance bands for assisted pull ups. As he gets stronger get a band with less resistance.

Picture on the amazon listing has a guide to which one to start with.

My 16 year old has a gym membership pays a student rate ? ( luckily he has a job so pays himself) but are any doing maybe a couple months membership or have some teen sessions payg - our other gym used to do that have set times for teenagers only, they had to have induction etc first though

If he wants to do cardio exercise - maybe pay for him to do a virtual challenge he can track on his phone. I have done several of the Conquerer Challenges and highly recommend. You get a nice medal when you finish.

Resistance bands and a suspension trainer. You can do loads of body weight exercises with these. Maybe a subscription to an online fitness app or a subscription to mens health magazine?

Gyroscopic arm strengthener

Thanks so much for this thread! Lots of ideas that would be great for my 15 year old.

I have a question about the TRX. I know it can be used in a small space, but realistically how much space is needed?

DS’s room is quite small. There is room at the end of the bed, about 3 ft x 6 ft (might be 3ft x 7ft but I can’t measure just now). Would that be enough room, assuming we get a ceiling mounted anchor point?

@ShatteredDream

A TRX-type thing on its own is enough to do 100% of your muscles, but it's nice to have a variety of ways of doing things, so resistance bands may keep working out interesting for him, if he likes a change. Also, as mentioned by @WeAllHaveWings, resistance bands can be used to change resistance intensity during body weigh exercises, so are a useful addition.

@LastStarFighter
For the full range of exercises with a suspension trainer, you'd need to be able to lie straight with your feet under the anchor point (usually against the door, if you're at home), and have a bit of extra room to spare. But, many many of the exercises can be done with less space, so I certainly wouldn't rule it out if you couldn't manage that. Also, it's brilliantly portable, so you could just move it to a different door if you had one exercise that needed more space, or, as I've done in the past, take it to the park and attach it to a tree, when you want to do that particular (set of) exercise(s)

[quote TheFoundations]@ShatteredDream

A TRX-type thing on its own is enough to do 100% of your muscles, but it's nice to have a variety of ways of doing things, so resistance bands may keep working out interesting for him, if he likes a change. Also, as mentioned by @WeAllHaveWings, resistance bands can be used to change resistance intensity during body weigh exercises, so are a useful addition.

@LastStarFighter
For the full range of exercises with a suspension trainer, you'd need to be able to lie straight with your feet under the anchor point (usually against the door, if you're at home), and have a bit of extra room to spare. But, many many of the exercises can be done with less space, so I certainly wouldn't rule it out if you couldn't manage that. Also, it's brilliantly portable, so you could just move it to a different door if you had one exercise that needed more space, or, as I've done in the past, take it to the park and attach it to a tree, when you want to do that particular (set of) exercise(s)[/quote]
So, I ordered some resistance bands from Amazon and bought a decathlon version of suspension trainer as it was only £15. Also picked up an ab roller for a fiver. Will see how he goes with that 😊 thanks all