Planet Fitness is free for teens all summer long
Article continues below
>
Free fitness classes specifically for teenagers will be available Monday through Friday via certified fitness trainers.
One teen will receive a $5,000 grand prize
By the end of summer, 51 lucky teens across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., will be randomly selected to receive a $500 scholarship, and one teen will receive a $5,000 grand prize.
Teens will also have the chance to win exciting prizes on Planet Fitness' Twitter and Instagram channels throughout the summer, such as club swag, movie tickets and wireless headphones.
Teens under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at sign-up.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently released new physical activity guidelines, which revealed that 80 percent of Americans do not currently meet the recommended amount of physical activity.
The guidelines also challenge youth (ages 6 – 17) to pursue a minimum of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity each day.
Planet Fitness' Teen Summer Challenge offers a solution for teenagers eager for an opportunity to stay active during the summer when school sports programs, gym classes or after school activities wind down.
Planet Fitness commissioned a national study that sheds light on how teens and parents feel about health and wellness, and how best to motivate youth toward pursuing an active lifestyle and setting them up for success through adulthood.
Today's teens are more health-conscious than ever before, seeing exercise as not only a way to be in shape, but believing that – among those who work out already – it positively impacts their mental health (72 percent) and focus on schoolwork (47 percent).
Sadly, nearly half of all teens (42 percent) lack a positive body image, noting they're self-conscious and have trouble finding the confidence to try something physically challenging.
In addition, with two-in-five (42 percent) of today's teens also battling anxiety and body image issues, many teenagers are recognizing that exercise may be the answer.
Those who work out note they feel more confident (47 percent) and happier (43 percent) in addition to feeling less stressed (37 percent) and anxious (24 percent).
Nearly three-in-five (57 percent) teens surveyed say that between school and extracurricular activities, they do not have enough time to make exercise a part of their daily routine – a sentiment also shared by more than one-third (36 percent) of teens' parents, who feel today's youth have fewer opportunities to exercise on a daily basis than they did a generation ago.
Not surprisingly, over two-in-five (41 percent) report that their fitness levels decrease over the summer when school is out.
That said, nearly all (91 percent) agree that they want to stay healthy and active over the summer.
Parents and teens (50 and 54 percent, respectively) agree teens have greater access and options to exercise than previous generations.
But almost two in five (39 percent) of teens say they don't have enough guidance on how to exercise or where to even start (36 percent), which may be why 39 percent feel negatively towards fitness.
When asked how they'd prefer to spend their free time, more than one-third (36 percent) wished to exercise or work out more (regardless of school schedules), which is greater than the number of teens who want to spend more time playing video games (27 percent), browsing social media (16 percent) or watching TV (16 percent).
Working out works to many teens' advantage, too, as fitness can be a secret recipe for straight As.
In fact, among surveyed teens who see improvements based on exercise (91%), two in five (40%) have reported that exercise helps them to find more focus, with 23 percent directly attributing it to making them a better student.
Having friends at the gym is a big motivator, with almost two-thirds (65 percent) saying they would go to the gym more often with a buddy. ■