{"id":247377,"date":"2025-10-24T00:57:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T00:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/247377\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T00:57:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T00:57:13","slug":"strength-discipline-and-community-all-benefits-of-increased-participation-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/247377\/","title":{"rendered":"Strength, discipline and community all benefits of increased participation"},"content":{"rendered":"

While there is no set legislation or minimum age for minors to access the gym in Australia \u2013 ages generally vary from 12 to 16 years nationwide \u2013 Dr Jordan Smith from the School of Education at the University of Newcastle says there are guidelines that most gyms in NSW follow, which stem from guidance released in 2004 by the NSW Department of Tourism, Sport, and Recreation: \u2018Kids in Gyms\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Credit: Matt Golding<\/p>\n

Some of these recommendations include anyone under 16 being supervised by an adult to ensure their safety, and restrictions on resistance training for anyone aged 13 or under.<\/p>\n

Following these recommendations can help mitigate some of the risks associated with kids and teens working out at the gym<\/a>, which specialist sports and exercise physiotherapist Dr Loretta O\u2019Sullivan-Pippia says can include poor technique, and use of non-age-appropriate equipment such as weights that are too heavy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe negatives are usually due to a lack of adequate supervision and a program developed by appropriately qualified health and sports science professionals,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

For Jones, having her mum supervise her, as well as working with her trained coach, has allowed her to exercise safely, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne aspect that both my coaches and I have always made a top priority in my training is the importance of bracing \u2026[which] is essential when lifting, especially when working with heavier weights like I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from injury, Helen Bird, head of prevention at the Butterfly Foundation, says that other risks with teens exercising at the gym can include body comparison, as well as possible issues with body image and self-esteem.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe gym environment can invite comparison and self-objectification, leading people to feel that they aren\u2019t fit, strong, lean or muscular enough,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Smith believes that social media can exacerbate this.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFrom a commonsense perspective, it\u2019s hard to believe that social media is having no influence on teen gym usage,\u201d he says. \u201cAppearance matters a lot to young people, and there is no shortage of fitness influencers online that many young people will follow, and these did not exist prior to social media.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scrolling through TikTok or Instagram, it doesn\u2019t take long to see videos of teens comparing biceps or posting workouts with hashtags such as #shredded, some of which have been viewed millions of times. Bird says that much of the messaging in our society, including on social media, uses weight and body shape as motivators for physical activity and exercise, warning that this can be an unhealthy reason to exercise.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudies show that focusing on weight can negatively impact a person\u2019s relationship with exercise, their self-esteem, body image and mental health,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Salim Sarkis, 17, from Sydney, who started going to the gym aged 15, says social media is a \u201cdouble-edged sword\u201d when it comes to teens working out.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn one hand, it can promote extreme behaviour like bulking up and wanting to be like Arnie [Arnold Schwarzenegger ] but on the other had it can encourage self-improvement and make people happier and healthier,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"Salim<\/p>\n

Salim Sarkis says he was initially motivated to use weights as part of his training to improve his appearance.Credit: Edwina Pickles<\/p>\n

\"Salim<\/p>\n

Salim Sarkis, 17, goes through a weights exercise at Planet Fitness.Credit: Edwina Pickles<\/p>\n

Sarkis says it was the latter \u2013 an innate desire to improve his appearance \u2013 that was initially his \u201cmain motivation\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cEver since I was a kid, I was really overweight,\u201d he says. \u201cI was never really taught the value of exercise, sport or eating healthy, so I asked my friends what sorts of exercises I could do to help get fit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarkis began by using hand weights in his grandparents\u2019 backyard and teaching himself how to use them by watching YouTube tutorials.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first, it sucked. I just thought, oh my gosh, it\u2019s just painful. I get sweaty, I get uncomfortable, but then over time I started to see results, and I started to feel more confident.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two years in, Sarkis says it\u2019s the positive effects working out has had on his overall health that he values the most and what motivates him to undertake three sessions of weight training and cardio per week at commercial gym franchise Planet Fitness.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou gain that extra confidence when you see the results on your body physically, but most importantly, the mental health aspects of working out, that\u2019s something I really, really appreciate.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Sullivan-Pippia, Bird and Smith all agree that exercising, when done appropriately and for the right reasons, is one of the best things for the health and wellbeing of teenagers and can have a tremendous positive impact on mental health. But there\u2019s another benefit, which both Sarkis and Jones say was a pleasant surprise: the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love being part of the gym community, connecting with people who share the same passion,\u201d Jones says. \u201cThey have become like family.\u201d<\/p>\n

For confidential & free support for eating disorders call the Butterfly National Helpline on 1800 ED HOPE (1800 33 4673) or visit www.butterfly.org.au<\/a> to chat online or email.<\/p>\n

Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox<\/a> every Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While there is no set legislation or minimum age for minors to access the gym in Australia \u2013…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":247378,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[337,97],"class_list":{"0":"post-247377","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}