My teenage sons started strength training, which terrified me. I implemented some rules to keep them safe.

My two teenage sons — 16 and 18 —have recently joined a gym and are focusing their time on strength training.

Instead of asking “What’s for dinner?” they now say, “What protein are we having tonight?”

Since they started strength training, the pull-up bar is a permanent fixture on the laundry room door, and they challenge one another to see who can do the most reps. They also now flex their “guns” at any opportunity.

When they first started, I was concerned about their physical and mental well-being. But I’m now trying to be more open to it.

The idea of my boys lifting weights concerned me

When they started at the gym, the idea made me uncomfortable. It seemed like an adult activity.

I was mostly concerned about the potential impacts of gym culture — being surrounded by guys bulking up and obsessing over their muscles in mirrors as they counted their reps.

While I recognized it was good that they were taking an interest in their health and fitness, I was also worried about the potential harms of weightlifting on their growing bodies through bad technique, using machines incorrectly, or attempting to lift heavier than they were able due to peer pressure.

Part of their appeal is the social aspect; they never go alone, always meeting friends at the gym before or after school. It is great to see them out of the house and socializing in real life rather than online, but my mind defaults to the flip side of image-based social media influencers and the teenage need to look a certain way and fit in. What if this interest becomes a preoccupation?

Joining the gym myself and speaking to my trainers helped

After doing some research, I learned that strength training can be beneficial for young people. It can help strengthen their muscles, help them maintain a healthy weight, protect them from sports-related injuries, and keep blood pressure low, the Mayo Clinic says.

To fully understand what my sons are getting into, though, I’ve joined the gym too — but a different one, so I don’t embarrass them. I started strength training for the first time.

It has been reassuring to speak to a qualified trainer about how to support my sons with strength training and generally living a healthy lifestyle.

My trainers put my worry that the move to weightlifting could be about getting the right physique rather than general health and fitness into context. My sons are teenagers, so of course, they’re going to care about how they look, but I should stay engaged with what they are doing at the gym and how much.

We don’t spend every dinner talking about lifting, but I do regularly ask what exercises they’re doing, who is guiding them, and how much they are lifting.

My trainers also advised that it’s important that strength training is balanced with other activities to give the muscles time to rest and recover, so I’ve instilled a three times a week rule and insisted they don’t quit their team sports.

As for diet, there is no way I’m cooking steaks or pounds of chicken breast each night, no matter what the gym influencers they follow on Instagram suggest. There is a bag of protein powder in the cupboard for post-workouts, but we continue to eat a balanced diet with protein, vegetables, and fruits as well as carbs, which are essential to fuel their growing bodies.

I’m hoping to instill positive habits

I know strength training and exercise can lead to obsessive behaviors, so I’m trying to teach them how to stay positive as their bodies change.

By informing myself and bringing my own gym experience to the conversation, I’m trying to create a positive narrative about health and strength for people of all ages.

Whenever I get nervous about their gym activities, I remind myself that they’re simply getting off their screens and moving their bodies.

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