Kettleball, not playing cool

Ishika Bhatia works out thrice a week with her trainer at home. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Aanya Zaveri, 13, started working out during the Coronavirus-induced lockdown last year. She was experiencing mood swings and not feeling active. She realised that she needed to take affirmative action. "I started with going to a public garden and getting trained using the hanging bars. Now, I do strength and weight training with kettlebells and dumbbells. It has helped my posture, and my moods have stabilised," says Zaveri, a student at a Worli school. Ask her if other kids her age are also working out, and she replies in the affirmative, adding that most do it the way Instagram says it should be done. "They want to run on the treadmill since they believe they are fat. But working out is more than that."

Zaveri is among the growing tribe of pre-teens and adolescents, who are frequenting gyms, or training with personal trainers to get into the best shape. That they have metabolism, youth, and high levels of mobility and flexibility on their side is the cherry on the cake. Unlike members of their parents' generation, who started working out at 30 because lifestyle habits were showing on the waist, or at 40, because diabetes and heart disease had reared their head, teens are up to date and early. Some are taking to exercising to get "skinny" or "ripped" because that's how social media defines perfect bodies, and some, this writer found out, are doing it to regulate their temperament and achieve fitness. Experts also say that the last two years, which saw a slump in their natural activity schedule due to isolation and lockdown, have made it imperative that they adopt an exercise workout. Avinash Mansukhani, a body re-composition and transformation specialist, says that it's beneficial for children to go to the gym, not only because it helps their muscular and cardio health, but also because it imbues them with discipline and confidence. "All athletes start working out when they are very young. Exercise even helps target hormonal problems. What's additionally needed is for nutrition needs to match up."

Madhuri and Sunil Kudva

Critics, however, say that early gymming could have its downside. "Young children should not be doing weight training or resistance work," Len Almond of the British Heart Foundation's National Centre for Physical Education, has been quoted as saying. When you are young and impressionable, the danger of over-doing things is higher. "Lots of budding footballers who train hard from an early age suffer later with their legs. Too much exercise can make children ill and their immune systems suffer." The secondary concern is that unlike free play and sports, gymming is an isolating experience. Teens, they suggest, should be encouraged to take up team sports.

Avinash Mansukani

Psychotherapist Lamia B, who works in child and adolescent psychiatry, says that as long as children and their parents are aware of the objective behind exercise, and are looking at gymming as a way to prioritise health and emotional well being, it's good. "It's a good idea, as more and more children, who were raised in urban areas, don't have access to gardens or playing areas. So working out in a structured environment is important. But, the idea of what an ideal body should look like is still dictated by social media, and unfortunately, young girls are working out with an eye on that goal. They need to be guided." It's here that trainers like Madhuri and Sunil Kudva, who run Elite Fitness in Gamdevi, come in. Madhuri, who trains Zaveri too, says that they have children aged eight to 17 train with them at their gym. Their own kids, aged 11 and 13, started training at five years of age. "Last year, due to the introduction of virtual schooling, some children have put on weight and are experiencing mood swings. Structured exercise training helps deal with these challenges. The ones who are following a fad don't stick it out. That's why they don't benefit," says Madhuri. "Children need to work on their posture, and build their stamina and endurance." For overweight young adults, she says that it's most likely that an obese child will grow into an obese adult, so it's better to start young. "India is one of the few countries where growth has stunted in children - they are not healthy and not growing taller. This means we are not moving enough. We need to make sure they are in the environment where such movement patterns exist."

At Elite Fitness, Gamdevi, kids come for training in batches

Ishika Bhatia, 17, has created this environment at home. She has a trainer who guides her at her residence three times a week. Bhatia says that last year, as she sat and spent her days watching Netflix, and she realised that her denims were getting too snug for her. "This is the first time that I have gone a size up. I wanted to get fit again." The student of Aditya Birla Integrated School in Fort now looks forward to her workout sessions, which she also sees as an opportunity to build stamina for horse riding classes. Her mother Uurmi, says she is happy to see her daughter exercise after a long spell of doing nothing. "A lot of teens my age want to work out just to lose weight, but I am also good at sports and want to keep that up. Of course, I want to fit into my jeans again too."

Lamia B

8
Right age at which experts say kids can start training at a gym