Puberty exercise: how much and what kind do teenage girls need?
Puberty exercise works best as a mix: an average of 60 minutes a day of activity that makes you breathe harder, with strength work and jumping built into the week. Supervised strength training is safe during puberty and doesn't stunt growth.
If your daughter's interest in sport is wobbling right now, or she has just discovered the gym, both are common. These are years when bones, muscles and coordination respond well to being used, and when habits and friendships around movement take shape. The aim is a strong, capable body that feels good to live in, and there is plenty of room to get there gently.
Does puberty exercise have to be 60 minutes every single day?
No. In the US, the CDC asks for an average of 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous activity, and the NHS in the UK words it as at least 60 minutes a day averaged across the week, so a quiet Friday can be balanced by a busy Saturday. A dance class and the walk to the bus all add up.
The two countries differ a little on strengthening work. US guidance from the CDC asks for muscle- and bone-strengthening activity on at least 3 days a week. That figure covers both kinds together, so the 2–3 strength sessions and the jumping days described on this page can count toward it rather than sit on top of it. The NHS sets no fixed number of days for most young people and asks for a varied mix instead. The shared message is that some of the week loads muscles and bones, not only the heart.
The NHS also suggests breaking up long spells of sitting, which is where everyday steps come in. Movement and rest work as a pair, so our page on teenage sleep is a good companion to this one. If she is coming back from an injury or a long break, health checks in puberty is a related page worth a look.
The training table and an example week
| Type | How often | How | Main benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moderate to vigorous activity | An average of 60 minutes a day | Sport, running, cycling, dancing or active travel.It can be spread across the week in whatever way suits her. | Anything that makes her breathe harder counts, so she can choose what she enjoys. |
| Strength training | 2–3 sessions a week | Bodyweight squats, lunges and push-ups first, then added load under qualified supervision.A coach or PE teacher can watch her technique. | Builds strength safely; supervised training doesn't stunt growth. |
| Impact and jumping | At least 3 days a week | Netball, basketball, gymnastics, running, skipping or hopping.Jumping drills can be added to a strength session. | Bone density at the hip and spine. |
| Team or club sport | 1–3 times a week | A school team or a local club.A new sport is welcome at any point. | Adds regular running, jumping and skill practice to the week. |
| Injury prevention | Every warm-up | Landing practice, single-leg balance, and hamstring and hip strength.Short and easy to repeat before every session. | Gives the legs practice at the movements sport asks of them. |
| Daily steps | Plenty, every day | Walking or cycling to school and taking the stairs.Short trips on foot add up. | Breaks up long periods of sitting. |
| Rest days | At least 1–2 a week | Light activity only, such as an easy walk.Fits well the day after a match. | Leaves room for food and sleep to keep pace with training. |
What helps a teenage girl stay active?
Friends are a good place to start. That can be a club or school team, and it can just as well be one friend who likes the same class or a parent who comes along for the run.
Interests shift in puberty, and trying something new is often welcome. For the years before this one, we cover active play and exercise for children. For the years after, exercise on your period looks at training around the cycle, and exercise for women maps every life stage.
Variety helps too. Many families find that playing several sports, rather than specializing in one too early, keeps options open and keeps the week interesting, so a season of something different is time well spent. For the adult years, our guide to strength training for women picks up where this page stops.
When is a teenager training too much?
When rest drops out of the week, or when training outpaces food and sleep. The rest days in the table are there so the plan has a pause built in, and a hard week of matches may call for an extra easy one.
It's worth knowing about RED-S, relative energy deficiency in sport, described in the 2023 IOC consensus (Mountjoy and colleagues). It describes a body that isn't getting enough energy for the training it does. Periods that stop for 3 months or more, especially with weight loss or heavy training, are a sign to see a doctor.
Facts
Common questions
How many sets and reps should a teenager do?
A sensible range is 2–3 sets of 6–15 reps per exercise, which suits a short session built around a handful of movements. If the last few reps turn wobbly, that's a cue to stay at the same level a little longer, and a qualified coach or PE teacher can watch the movement before the load goes up. Smooth, controlled reps matter more than the number.
Do swimming and cycling count as puberty exercise?
Yes, both count, because both make her breathe harder. They don't build bone, though, so a swimmer or cyclist may like to add skipping, hopping or jumping drills on at least 3 days a week, or try a court sport such as basketball or netball. That gives bone density at the hip and spine something to respond to.
What should a warm-up include to protect her knees?
Three things are worth building in: landing practice, single-leg balance, and hamstring and hip strengthening. A few minutes before each session is a workable length, and many families find drills easier to remember when the whole team does them together. A PE teacher or athletic trainer (a physio in the UK) can demonstrate each drill and watch how she lands, which is a good starting point.
What if my daughter doesn't like team sports?
That's common, and nothing is lost. Running, cycling, dancing and active travel all count, and skipping or gymnastics cover the bone-loading side. The company can come from a class, a running partner or a family walk. It's worth letting her choose, since activity she enjoys is easier to keep up.
Are teenage girls less active than boys?
Many girls find their activity dips in the teen years, and it says more about timetables, confidence and what's on offer than about ability. Small steps tend to help: walking to school, a trial session at a club, or one class with a friend. A PE teacher can often suggest relaxed, non-competitive options that suit her.
When is it worth seeing a doctor about training?
A visit to her pediatrician (GP in the UK) is worth considering if changes in training seem to come with low mood, anxiety, self-criticism about food or her body, or withdrawal from friends and activities she used to enjoy. A rough note of her training week and how long the changes have lasted gives the appointment a clear starting point.
Next steps
A good place to start is the example week above: pick the one session that looks most doable and try it for a couple of weeks. From there, you might add a second strength day, a jumping game after school, or a club she's curious about. If anything on the red flag list sounds familiar, a doctor's visit is a sensible next step. Beyond that, the right mix is hers to shape, because this is not one size fits all.
See a doctor promptly if you have
- Periods that stop for 3 months or more, especially with weight loss or heavy training
- Low mood, anxiety, self-criticism about food or body, or withdrawal
Also in puberty & adolescence
The same topic in the stage before and after
Sources
The guidelines and studies this page draws on.
- Physical Activity Guidelines for Children and Adolescents, CDC (2025)
- Physical activity guidelines for children and young people (5–18 years), NHS (UK) (2024)
- Physical activity fact sheet, WHO (2024)
- Lloyd et al., 2014: international consensus on youth resistance training, British Journal of Sports Medicine (2014)
- Mountjoy et al., 2023: IOC consensus on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), British Journal of Sports Medicine (2023)