If you’ve scrolled apps like Instagram or TikTok, you’ve likely seen a wacky workout or two in your feed.
Fitness content has become popular on social media, and more workout routines are being created every day, many of which are inspiring the younger generations using the apps to pick up some weights.
Deborah Peddle-Hann is a personal trainer and she’s been in the industry for 17 years. She says she often hears from concerned parents questioning the legitimacy of many of these workouts.
“One of the biggest questions I’m getting asked by my clients is, ‘My child or youth is watching this TikToker and trying to do their workouts, their following their workout programs’ and they want to know if it’s safe,” she says.
“I think it’s extremely important to empower parents and the youth to know who they’re following, and what they’re doing is going to be safe so they don’t risk injury later on.”
Peddle-Hann says the first step for parents is to show genuine interest in what their kid is doing.
“When you’re doing the exercise with them you can ask them questions like, ‘What is their certification? Are they showing you something that they actually know works because they’ve been trained in that, or are they just showing you something that worked for them?’” she says.
Peddle-Hann also warns the youth that many of the workouts seen online are often not very proactive.
“Those fancy exercises that they’re showing you on TikTok, generally, that’s not the ones they’ve done to get into the shape they’ve got into,” says Peddle-Hann. “They’re showing the fancy moves for likes and follows and shares, but I can almost guarantee you that they started with the basics.”
In terms of what age people should be to start working out, Peddle-Hann says it can depend on the person, as a kid who played sports their whole life may have better body awareness than a kid who hasn’t, but overall she says starting with the basics is the best route.
“Make sure you have the basics, when you have that body awareness, you know what muscles you’re working, how they work, how they work together, then you can start adding things safely,” she says.
