As parents or responsible adults who deal with kids, the generational disconnect can often be frustrating. Gen Z can be fiercely independent and that can make it difficult to guide or encourage them to take fitness seriously. Even if you manage to get them to listen and give it a shot, there’s a good chance they lose interest and give up after a few months.
On the bright side, Gen Z as a whole does seem to have an innate love for fitness and gym culture. Data shows that 73% of them are members of gyms and fitness studios. In this article, let’s try to look at some ways to make fitness a little more appealing to the other 27%.
1. Simplify Workouts and Explore Holistic Angles
If there’s one thing that ends up hampering anyone of any age from embracing fitness, it’s the complex talk about workouts. The internet is full of resources, but unfortunately, there’s a lot of conflicting advice and jargon that gets thrown around in this niche.
Making exercise and working out appealing will require a pivot in the way kids are introduced to the process. Thankfully, we already see organizers of a number of kids’ fitness classes doing exactly this. Some of them focus purely on physical training, while others go further and aim for a more holistic experience.
This holistic fitness can include exercises in problem-solving or even social elements like team-building, which a lot of kids can benefit from. According to Mission Grit, such an approach has shown promise in boosting confidence and leadership skills.
Recent research from a Finnish study has also found that fitness levels in childhood can protect and fortify mental health. The findings found depression and stress symptoms were fewer and improvement in cognitive function was evident. All this just makes the case for early fitness, even more attractive.
The key takeaway is that it doesn’t have to be complex at all. Simple exercise still does the job and makes it more likely for kids to stay consistent.
2. Integrate Progress Tracking as Much as Possible
Gen Z really loves smartphones and tech and spends a huge chunk of their lives on them. They also tend to be far more comfortable with activity tracking than any age group. Did you know that people between the ages of 18 and 34 make up 40% of smartwatch owners? Closing your rings on an Apple Watch is something that has become an obsession for many people out there.
This ring-closing desire is a fascinating trend that obviously takes advantage of gamification, but it’s still done wonders to keep young people active. This is why it's so important to add some form of trackability when trying to introduce young people to fitness.
For instance, provide them with weekly challenges that are paired with a progress bar that they can fill out every 1,000 steps. Of course, it doesn’t have to be steps. Maybe, that progress bar could be for the number of sets or the number of calories lost, etc. You’d be surprised at how effective these measures can be at appealing to Gen Z.
3. Make Fitness Social Media Friendly
Say what you will about social media, but for better or worse, it’s something that kids these days are hooked to. Until we find an effective way to wean people off their addictions to phones, we have to make the best of the situation.
Think about it, social media exists for people to share their lives with friends and family and even build a personal brand. If parents and experts can find ways to make fitness and exercise more ‘social media friendly,’ it can be a game changer.
The key reason for this would be tapping into intrinsic motivation. If posting about working out and exercising becomes more naturally appealing, kids are more likely to warm up to it. We already see this happening with the many trends and challenges on TikTok. You might have seen the #100pushupsaday challenge or the cinematic fitness content vlogs like “A Day in My Life” by JustMerk.
These are just two examples of making fitness a social media-friendly activity. The possibilities are truly endless.
To summarize, the main focus ought to be encouraging kids to move away from a sedentary lifestyle and help them embrace more active ones. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter what path Gen Z takes to get there as long as they work and stay consistent.
