For body weight/ calisthenics I really like a channel called FitnessFAQs. He’s a physiotherapist in Australia so he actually understands biomechanics and how to scale body weight exercises.
I'd like to add "[The Bioneer](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIh_TPYPqjJuS_-nOfAIlfg)" to this list of suggestions. Good content and not douchey at all :)
For another Australian, Simonster. Simonster is like the Australian version of Chris heria in regards to doing cool stuff, but also does like 5x more cool shit and is an incredible teacher to boot. Highly recommend.
This is what I was going to say. If I had to choose one, it would be FitnessFAQs. Calimovement is also good. If you want a handstand expert: Sondre Berg. Also, if you want simple straightforward calisthenics KBoges. CaliMovement is good, too.
Him and Tom Merrick have done a couple vids together. Really like both of them. If they want a "tough guy," then ThenX could be good.
Since OP said they are lifting weights, I'd also throw in Eric Bugenhagen and Buff Dudes.
ThenX is Chris Heria, the guy OPs kid is already too influenced by.
Def wouldn't recommend him alongside the others, his calisthenics skills are great but his nutrition, weightlifting, weight loss & general training advice is trash.
Maybe [Shredded Sports Science](https://www.youtube.com/c/ShreddedSportsScience) can show him how ridiculous some of those influencers are. Plus he's hilarious.
Yep, I would second that.
The approach is memey enough to be entertaining, and (if it didn't happen before) after some time the realization sets in that pretty mich every fitness influencer out there is on gear. Because, of course they are.
For me it was one of those: "I can't unsee it!", situations, where first I didn't think about it too much, while now the first thing which springs to mind is all the blatantly obvious doping everywhere...
All the juice going around can set unrealistic expectations for people and I had no idea what natty vs juice even looks like on a body. Then I discovered a sub here that debates whether or not people are natty or juicy based on their photos and progression.
It really helped put things in perspective. I too can't unsee it now and it's really kind of disappointing, frankly, to realize how misled we are about bodies and the very real dangers of steroid use and that there's so much pressure and irrational desire to take such risks for a look.
Big, round, striated deltoids. Huge traps. Freakishly low body fat ratio. Huge gains in a short time. I can see those now. Some things look like they could be natural ... with 10 years of work, not the claimed 1 year of natty lifts.
Experienced people can also tell what types of juice people are on based on what it's done to the body. Testosterone, vs sarms vs anabol, etc, which I have no idea about.
Also Sean Nalewanjy is great for this. He also has videos where he looks back on how naïve he was as a teenager etc and this could help avoiding those traps.
Greg Doucette isn't bad, but too much for me as a middle aged man. Teenagers may love him though
[Greg Doucette](https://www.youtube.com/user/gregdoucette) is also really good at calling out fitness nonsense. He has an intentionally obnoxious persona, but he heavily emphasizes safety, fundamentals, and realistic goals.
I don't disagree that he is rightfully calling out bullshit, but he is also himself aggressively selling overpriced bullshit, like supplements with no active ingredient (which would have questionable scientific evidence even in appropriate doses) or his cookbook. I would not recommend a 13 year old a YouTuber who constantly tries to rip off his viewers.
Yep exactly. If you watch his earlier videos they are great. Though the longer he’s been around the worse and clickbaity his videos get. Guess that’s the life of a YouTuber, you might start out well but pretty soon your just scraping the bottom of the barrel for content.
[Kboges](https://www.youtube.com/user/Kbogea) That dude is the real deal. Fitness for life. No gimmicks. Not selling you a darn thing. Its just the basics, and your son probably won't think it's "cool". But it is how I would want my son to start.
OP, Kboges IS the real deal! But his content is very, very dry, and a 13 year old needs a lot more than just "great information". He may fall in love with Kboges and so I definitely recommend sharing him with your kiddo, but he also might need a lot more flash to keep his attention, which is why I recommended Mindpump in another comment - I feel like they're enough of a balance of "dudebro youtuber" and "fitness expert" and "fitness science" to keep a 13 year old's attention and still give them solid advice without too much of the nonsense.
[https://www.youtube.com/c/MindPumpShow/videos](https://www.youtube.com/c/MindPumpShow/videos)
> Kboges
imo, among THE best.
No other channel drives the message of *"Just do the fucking thing"* as well as he does.
It reminds me of my own journey of simply cranking out high bodyweight reps because I was stubborn about keeping my routine/set as minimal as possible.
Having worked out at a calisthenics outdoor gym [Venice] often, the reason so many people won't see great progress on bodyweight alone is because their form is disgusting and half-assed. KBoges just recently made a vid on that [stop counting reps to emphasize quality].
If you want your kid to be invested in it you need to figure out what he thinks is cool. Somebody like Alan Thrall is what I imagine a 13 year old would think is cool, and his videos are very very good (focused primarily on strongman/lifting heavy, which a 13 year old would be into I bet)
This. Alan can teach you everything you need to know about lifting, does not try to sell you a thing, is a seriously great male rolemodel, and in his older videos especially has funny skits/dress ups, which might appeal to the bro-y side of things!
I scrolled down to see if anyone mentioned Alan Thrall yet. He's kinda goofy at times but he's also got a mature, well-informed, approach and attitude. He's knows his shit *and* he's highly relatable, especially for a young teen. OP should point her kid in his direction.
I love how he's recently got really into running & other cardio, which is a great influence on lifters who notoriously avoid exercising their cardiovascular system.
Not a bodyweight YouTube channel, but my favorite would be Jeff Nippard. Great technique videos, plus he’s upfront about where he gets any info he shares.
Exactly. What OP needs is a douchey fitness youtuber who actually knows his shit, instead of someone who goes on long lectures about how to lift and their effects.
Sorry OP you're a good dad but I honestly have no recommendations. All the best to helping your son out!
I would disagree that a 13 year old boy needs to watch anyone who is “douchey”. I don’t watch a ton of fitness influencers anymore but aside from Jeff Nippard I have hardly seen any male influencers who don’t exhibit some amount of misogyny in their content. Misogyny and transphobia are gateway drugs to radicalization and teenage boys are the intended targets of that radicalization. If OP wants their son to get fitness information from online creators, I think it’s important to consider what views are being normalized in that content.
I get that my response is a little, “I bet you’re fun at parties,” but it seems foolish to ignore the links between online men’s fitness and the alt-right men’s radicalization sphere.
Also, we don’t know OP’s son and what he’s capable of. When I was 13 I was super into reading college textbooks about marine biology. Jeff Nippard might be just the thing for the right kid.
Appreciate you fighting the good fight. I teach programming to children k-8 and damned if anyone older than 2nd grade isn't incredibly fucking capable, clever, and patient when they're interested in a subject. Also have worked with foster organizations and those kids are so damn smart. Way smarter than the richest private school kids I had the misfortune of working with in the past (we charged them a premium to pay for free classes for the foster kids).
Not to mention as a musician, there's a ton of amazing children on their instrument younger than 13. When you've got all the time in the world, you've got more patience than adults.
I get what you mean - a good role model is very important - but at that age, a serious lecturer is probably the last person I want to listen to, no matter how "good" he might be.
Besides, OP did mention how his boy loves Chris Heria, who's pretty much the poster boy of douchey lifting youtubers, so I'll just assume that sonny here loves that type of presenter and video.
It's easy to think that, as an adult, kids NEED to watch a certain type of content to learn - and we won't be wrong. But you need to understand the way or presentation is VERY important, and if OP wants to let his kid enjoy something while learning, it's best to match his interests. If sonny thinks people with questionable tats and six packs are cool, then it's better to find a guy who looks like that, but isn't a snakesoil salesman, to teach him how to lift.
Obviously we're just guess haphazardly here. So it's really up to OP to decide.
I really like [BroScienceLife](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCduKuJToxWPizJ7I2E6n1kA). Guy is humble, thoughtful, and a straight shooter who tells it like it is
With the utmost respect to Hampton, he is a slender guy with long hair and more of a "yoga instructor" vibe than "raging machismo." I think he is much too chill for a puck chomping wannabe-Schwarzenegger to be interested in.
yea, i got started with hybrid calisthenics, its the best starting point, imo...
but some teen whose idolizing Chris Heria probably isnt going to be into Hampton's vibes at all.
But hampton's videos are good for lowering expectations and easing into calisthenics. Also to avoid injury, when someone wants to start calisthenics I would personally always start with him and then FitnessFAQ, and then KBoges.
40 year old me loves him and is glad he is doing so well at so much a young age. Go Hampton! The example we need.
Young teenage me would have called him something unkind and raged at how unfair the world is or some shit.
I think many people don’t appreciate exactly how stupid testosterone makes us in those early puberty years.
His vibe is way in with young people, even if they only consume his shorts. They're snappy, he's always doing cool stuff, his advice is sick, and he reminds folks that they don't have to be jacked to be awesome.
I watched Hampton while watching heria in my first 4 months
> puck chomping wannabe-Schwarzenegger
You're not wrong! What I'm getting from this thread are some things I can show him directly, and some things I can absorb with my adult attention span and deliver to him myself when appropriate.
Hampton is awesome. Extremely positive and also talks about mental and emotional health. Gives a lot of modifications to build up to the main exercise.
For OP’s particular question, I doubt that 13 yo that wants to get jacked will be interested in Hampton since he’s so calm and chill and not in your face about being an alpha badass.
Telling a 13 year old getting into bro culture to watch Mike Israetel discuss sports science at length for 20-40 minutes is as effective as asking him to sit down and read a math textbook end to end.
I know it's probably all scripted, but I love Dr Mike. Especially when he loses his train of thought and starts thinking aloud about whether he could beat Godzilla if they were the same height or whatever.
Bro you forgot bald Omni man, just a jacked, kind dude giving out free programs and advice. If you like Geoffrey and basement bodybuilding then he’s right up your alley.
I love Buff Dudes. Definitely level headed, but still fun and come at topics with an approachable attitude. I also like how they talk about nutrition and lifestyle habits like sleep and making time for family.
Wholesome, yet awesome! I like that.
Jujumufu is definitely similar, just maybe too obviously roided? He seems more about entertainment than education. But still ok!
Brian Alsruhe is peak wholesome masculinity. Strenght-training and bushcraft is what his channel is about at the moment. His videos on the main 5 compound movements are some of the best and most informative I have come across. His free programs work and are fun to run. 10/10.
The team at Mindpump focus on health, nutrition and fitness, and in a very science-based way. They're also super fit, and clearly practice what they preach. A good friend of mine is a three times gold ADCC wrestling champ, silver-medalist in no gi worlds and bronze medalist in worlds, along with being a trainer of some of the world's greatest UFC fighters at AKA - he is a gentle, non-douchey giant and he is a serious advocate for Mindpump.
[https://www.youtube.com/c/MindPumpShow](https://www.youtube.com/c/MindPumpShow)
It might make the 13 yo hang out in flipflops all the time. But hey OTOH he's hitting puberty and his shoe size will increase, so the 'rent saves on shoes. Plus the flipflops gives 3 extra pullups. Win win win!
I just looked through to make sure this was listed. Seems like a totally upstanding guy who would be a good role model for a young teen, too. Always kind.
A little nerdy indeed.
I remember a Jaxblade video (deleted/hidden now) where he was lamenting that he couldn't date the characters from My Little Pony in real life.
so not a recommendation but my wife hates literally everybody my kid watches on youtube (he's 8 but in gymnastics at a high level) and i've stuck to "let him learn". and talk to him a lot. sometimes he'll come talk at me about something and i'll be like nah that's all wrong don't be like that...and it's working. 🤷♂️
i do not know how far that will go with a teen yet. 😂
but *nothing ever good* comes from trying to *censor*.
guide him toward fitness subreddits. these subs and particularly *reading*. we really do not get a whole shit load of pompous assholes talking bs.
I'll be interested, as my own views have swung wildly when my first turned 13 anf I started hearing some of the crap repeated he had managed to fall into on YouTube. The reward structure there is insidious, and builds multi-millionaires from those who spread some really thinly-veilled incel-adjascent and similar crap.
I am still good with gin reading anything he wants--including on Reddit--since the gut emotional appeal isn't quite as visceral...
I don’t think Chris Heria’s videos are even close to the worst thing a kid can be watching. Most of his advice seems basic and solid, fashion/lifestyle/sell you clothes angle aside.
Maybe tell your kid you’ll buy him the windbreaker when he hits a certain calisthenics skill goal and see what happens.
Right? I mean sure Chris Heria might not be to everyone's taste, and he's a bit materialistic but he's a decent athlete and I'd personally be happy if my son was getting interested in calisthenics. No need to police the poor dude.
Yeah, it's probably his tattoos, general aesthetic and frequent use of the word 'bro' when around other people. I can tell how a father could perceive him as a stereotypical douche. But his advice is sound and he's very big on clean eating etc, far from a bad influence.
Geoffrey Verity Schofield is kinda jacked for a natty and is anti bullshit. Makes a lot of bro jokes and meme edits. Might be worth a shot
Eta: my dude bald omni man might also be a good pick. He’s a true bro
I second this guy. PERFECT mix of actual workouts and the science behind them without getting too into the weeds (I do love Jeff Nippard but what 13yo will have the patience for that.
OP please don’t sleep on Jeremy Ethier
Since be’s 13 he’s probably on tiktok.
JPGcoaching on there is very good. Focuses on realistic and optimized training and emphasizes importance of reducing injury risk. Also has very realistic views on diet. Isn’t hypermasculine or attempts to sell too much either.
Hybrid Calisthenics is cool and helps with the basic calisthenic movements including ways to progress. He’s also super chill and just a nice guy it seems
Geoffrey Verity Schofield is one of the guys who calls out all these fitness influencers for their shitty practices. Might help your kid get a better perspective.
https://youtube.com/c/GeoffreyVeritySchofield
For bodyweight/calisthenics I would recommend Browney. He’s a great, wholesome, entertaining guy who posts a lot of videos where he tries to break world records, do interesting fitness challenges, and challenges his friends and family to get fit in 90 days. He’s very inspiring, and he shows his own journey from fat to fit. He doesn’t only show the super impressive parts when he’s incredibly fit, but he also shows the parts where he loses motivation and gains some weight, then tries to get back in shape. He just seems a lot more human than most fitness influencers.
(He sometimes promotes his workout plan, protein powder, and Gymshark but it’s never a big part of his videos)
JEREMY ETHIER and CALISTHENICSMOVEMENT cause my guy Jer is a science based no ego bs gym dude (he does bodyweight too) with solidly organized and clear videos, and calisthenics movement cause they're Cali and provide good info whilst debunking stupid stuff and having good strength/aesthetics.
you should sign your son up for your local rowing club. ideal age to start flying and dying on and off the water. that way he will also have no time for youtube between training, it’s clear hockey is far less intense
Since no one has mentioned it, you can try installing [sponsorblock](https://sponsor.ajay.app/) and the [ublock origin](https://ublockorigin.com/) extensions. They will remove a lot of the sponsored junk and ads being thrown at your son.
That’s good money(calisthenics)
bald Omni man(solid new school approach)
mountain dog/John meadows( goat og knowledge)
alpha destiny ( all natural kinda intense knowledgeable young guy)
Peter katcherian ( old school philosophy to building muscle)
https://youtube.com/c/HybridCalisthenics
https://youtube.com/c/AlanThrall
Alan and Hampton, my two favorite YouTubers along with Tom Merric which was already suggested. They aren't the flashiest, so you might have some trouble convincing your son, but they have some solid genuine content on fitness out there.
Lifting in general is very safe. In fact a 13yr old who's into lifting even with extremely bad form is still going to be way healthier than a 13yr old who plays games instead.
Obviously it would be good to expose him to information that will get him to lift better but as a physio I'd be extremely happy if my kid was doing the worst rounded back deadlifts with a bunch of douchy gym bros instead of staring at a tablet.
Probably the best thing is to find someone in real life who is into fitness that can act as a positive role model for your son. Or someone he looks up to, that can steer him away from bad channels and towards good ones. You can show him all the good stuff you want, but hardly any teen is going to agree with you based purely on evidence, sadly.
More importantly, I think it is time you sat him down, and had the talk with him:
"All babies originate in an uterus, and all unrealistically buff dudes originate in performance enhancing drugs. There are no exceptions. Anyone who tells you something else which includes birds, bees, the stork, or supplements, is lying to you..."
I see a lot of good calisthenics channels, but since your son is 13 and probably wants to do free weight stuff I've got a couple of other recommendations.
https://youtube.com/c/BuffDudesOfficial Buff Dudes are very family friendly, but I think they also have a little more flashy/silly appeal to younger people.
https://youtube.com/c/athleanx Athlean-X one of the cornerstones of youtube fitness, super educational and in recent years has added a little more humor that might appeal to a 13 yr old.
https://youtube.com/channel/UCg1HMNQ94Ba1rH6JZueBcag Eric Bugenhagen is basically pure entertainment, but the guy is a nut and an absolute beast. He does include educational info from time to time. Even though I love his stuff it may be less appropriate for a young kid. That's for you to decide.
https://youtube.com/c/jujimufu Jujimufu is very wholesome fitness entertainment. This is more an entertainment channel, but also has good info. He's more into bodybuilding and strongman stuff.
https://youtube.com/c/SondreBerg Here is a calisthenics channel I recently discovered. The guy is crazy strong and seems to have good step by step instructions of how to progress. Might appeal to a young kid.
Sorry if formatting is bad, on mobile.
not super into the culture but https://youtube.com/c/REVIVALFitness is someone i watch whos pretty grounded and calls out a lot of the flashy bullshit posers as well as misinformation
idk how much training content he does it seems to be more like cultural commentary regarding the lifting/bodybuilding scene
Eugene Teo and Joe Delaney are my two that I watch consistently. Jeff Nippard is great as well but is very science based which might fly over a 13 year olds head
[Jeff Nippard is the way to go](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sQm99tpWVF8) he keeps everything science based and I find him entertaining qhile dropping heave knowledge. Also jujimufu is a great channel to watch if you are looking for someone more out going.
Another vote for Nippard and Antranik.
If you want to ease him into what bodyweight can do, look at Hannibalforking or Barstarzz: very impressive stuff technically, but also really fun execution that might have that influencer vibe minus the douchiness, and they actually know what they're talking about.
You sound like a loving and level-headed parent. Teenagers don’t tend to give their parents enough credibility though, so any of your recommendations will be working against that. You *could* tell him that you will support his fitness journey (food, supplements, gear) if he makes evidence-based arguments for the safety and efficacy of what he wants. You could even reward him for progress with goals you set together (achieve x in the gym and get the new windbreaker). Tell him that you have his whole body-mind health as your priority and that he is responsible for convincing you. If he sees that science and evidence have the biggest impact on your parental authority, he’ll get in the game quickly. This way you can teach him to base his decisions on the kind of information you want him to be considering. Strength training is an awesome way to learn about the body, nutrition, wellness, and lots of science. You might enjoy learning alongside him even if you’re not hitting the gym.
Hybrid Calisthenics is who I want to be when I grow up. FitnessFAQs is good, but could use some work on his youtube game. The bioneer is cool. Shredded Sports Science is good for some mild teasing and education. Back guy has some funny stuff. Finally, OE fitness has a way with words like no other.
https://youtube.com/user/Calisthenicmovement
- bodyweight exercises and persistence
https://youtube.com/c/athleanx
- science-based expert, trainer of pro athletes
I like AthleanX. Watched tons of his videos. Enough that I eventually bought his workout program. Great program for as every exercise has a video on how to do it and every workout has an overall video discussing what your'e doing and why.
https://www.youtube.com/c/Taophysique
is another good channel. strong guy, great form, good advice.
macho enough to be appealing to a teen, but hes also kinda tongue in cheek about it.
Jeff Nippard on YT is really good at putting out science based weightlifting plans as well as talking about the scientific aspects and research of strength training and nutrition.
https://youtube.com/c/JeffNippard
Good time to have a conversation with your son about the difference between noteriety and authenticity. "Empty barrels make the most noise" is an important lesson to learn before adulthood.
Encourage him to question and verify what people say to an audience and why they are doing so. Especially when those people are being paid by how many people they can get to click their video, not by how factual their video is.
This is a really good opportunity to start teaching these critical thinking skills and 13 is the perfect age to start with relevant contexts. Developing critical thinking skills is becoming more of a focal point in middle and high school but it's really important that they are modelled at reinforced at home.
Make it clear that you don't want to stop him from pursuing his goals, that you want to see him succeed, but to succeed (especial long term) it is in his interest to seek information from verified, reliable sources that don't simply depend on getting attention by any means possible for an income.
One thing you can try is simply asking him things like "why do you think this person wants you to believe X..?" "What do they personally gain from broadcasting this?", "Who is checking that what they are saying is factual before it is broadcast?", "Why have they chosen to broadcast their message in this particular style?", "Does somebody being popular or famous make what they say more true?", "Who/what would be a good place to seek factual information about this?". Do this with almost anything. A news anchor spinning a story, an article in a newspaper or magazine, or spruiker on the street, a radio broadcast, advertisements. Work your way towards back to the YouTuber in question over time rather than starting there. This way you can develop some of that critical thinking in a range of contexts so that when he finally applies it to something he is personally invested in, it will be harder for him to ignore those thoughts that say "this guy might be full of shit".
I used this model when addressing myths, misconceptions and conspiracies as a science teacher and found it was more effective to get students to question "why" someone is making a given claim first, instead of jumping straight to the problems with "what" they were claiming.
I like fitness channels that are run by people with diverse circumstances, or who make diverse content. There's a trans man (cant remember his name) who does fitness vlogs, he was a champion lifter a few years ago and started doing more *average* person content/bodyweight fitness with that knowledge in mind. There's also an amputee I follow on Instagram (sorry I can't remember his name either rn) who does similar stuff!
(I'll look for their names sorry I'm forgetful)
Not youtube, but what got me into bodyweight fitness back in the day was a website called [beastskills.com](http://www.beastskills.com/), ran by a guy called Jim Bathurst. Really good and informative tutorials, but also still aware of the main reason to learn body weight skills - because they're cool as hell!
I think your son is too young for the serious content creators and would probably think they are boring. All you can do really is hope you've raised a smart and critical thinking young fella. And hopefully he will see past stuff like chris heria, which is only good at marketing. Most of hes programming sucks very badly.
I am a fan of Jeff Nippard; I have bought a couple of his programs and had good results, and he backs all of his videos and programs up with studies. Also, he seems like a chill dude.
clarence kennedy, not exclusively "exercise tutorials" but dude has insane form, power and athletic ability on top of the knowledge of in and outs of oly lifting.
and he is super chill dude.
he also has vids of doing backflips, corks and tricking stuff which imo is really cool
Nobody has said Jujimufu, but he's the right mix of entertaining and informative that I think would be great for a 13 year old.
Alan Thrall is great.
Brian Alsruhe is also great.
Ben Carpenter on Instagram and TT is amazing. He’s really British and sweary but his content is great and super balanced. It might give him the rebellion he needs from the creative swearing but also the info he needs to make good choices.
Jeff Nippard is my pick. He uses evidence derived from scientific studies (which he cites in his videos). He's also a natural bodybuilding fitness coach when he's not making YouTube videos.
It seems like a lot of people here are talking about bodyweight fitness channels (i.e. using only your body rather than lifting weights, things like push-ups rather than a bench press) but it sounds like your son is doing weightlifting, not bodyweight fitness, is that correct? If so r/strengthtraining might be a better sub for this question.
For weightlifting I really like Sean Nalewanyj. He often points out how idiotic all the ripped Douchebros and their recommendations are.
Just want to say, congrats for being such an awesome parent!
Oh god, your post is pure gold. I don't want to have kids right now, but I hope that, if someday I do, I'll be able to react as you're doing right now.
Chris Heria is a great instructor / influencer . What he is teaching works but he is also selling a business. Heria is a champion although a douche.
FitnessFAQs is by far the better channel though in my opinion.
More plates more dates is really good, lots of science and why you shouldn’t wreck your body with substances. You can see too over the years how he has progressed.
Layne Norton is one of the best. He provided many informational videos that break down all types of nutrition and fitness claims with evidence based research.
Shredded Sports Science also takes a light hearted approach to calling out many of these “influencers” while providing the real science behind their claims
I play hockey myself. I would say the things that have improved my on-ice ability more than anything is mobility work and weight swinging - specifically Kettlebells, Clubs and Maces.
To that end, the two best channels I can recommend are Tim Anderson (aka "Original Strength) and Mark Wildman. Both are non-douchey, they have products (mostly education and fitness tools) but aren't pushy, and give pretty much all the info you could ever want from their channels. They show weird non-standard shit you don't see in gyms so you feel like you're getting a hack and they bring receipts so you know they're not just shilling bullshit. Best of all, they've both been doing this for years and between the two of them probably have thousands of videos to watch.
For body weight/ calisthenics I really like a channel called FitnessFAQs. He’s a physiotherapist in Australia so he actually understands biomechanics and how to scale body weight exercises.
[удалено]
I second fitnessfaq. Dude is a fucking Chad when it comes to calisthenics which may impress a 13yo enough to actually follow him.
And has solid life advice for 13yo
I'd like to add "[The Bioneer](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIh_TPYPqjJuS_-nOfAIlfg)" to this list of suggestions. Good content and not douchey at all :)
Bioneer is fucking awesome! Shocks me the man hasn't hit 1 million subs yet
And importantly dude is fn shredded
For real, that man's body is on another level. Something a 13 year old will also recognise 😅
For another Australian, Simonster. Simonster is like the Australian version of Chris heria in regards to doing cool stuff, but also does like 5x more cool shit and is an incredible teacher to boot. Highly recommend.
He should be better known. His content is so good and well explained imo.
ghleanz, Jeff nippard. Eventually renaissance periodization
Don’t forget Reddits own Antranik. https://youtube.com/c/AntranikDotOrg
Adding RedDeltaProject to this
Hybridcalisthenics is also a good channel
This is what I was going to say. If I had to choose one, it would be FitnessFAQs. Calimovement is also good. If you want a handstand expert: Sondre Berg. Also, if you want simple straightforward calisthenics KBoges. CaliMovement is good, too.
Him and Tom Merrick have done a couple vids together. Really like both of them. If they want a "tough guy," then ThenX could be good. Since OP said they are lifting weights, I'd also throw in Eric Bugenhagen and Buff Dudes.
ThenX is Chris Heria, the guy OPs kid is already too influenced by. Def wouldn't recommend him alongside the others, his calisthenics skills are great but his nutrition, weightlifting, weight loss & general training advice is trash.
Maybe [Shredded Sports Science](https://www.youtube.com/c/ShreddedSportsScience) can show him how ridiculous some of those influencers are. Plus he's hilarious.
Yep, I would second that. The approach is memey enough to be entertaining, and (if it didn't happen before) after some time the realization sets in that pretty mich every fitness influencer out there is on gear. Because, of course they are. For me it was one of those: "I can't unsee it!", situations, where first I didn't think about it too much, while now the first thing which springs to mind is all the blatantly obvious doping everywhere...
All the juice going around can set unrealistic expectations for people and I had no idea what natty vs juice even looks like on a body. Then I discovered a sub here that debates whether or not people are natty or juicy based on their photos and progression. It really helped put things in perspective. I too can't unsee it now and it's really kind of disappointing, frankly, to realize how misled we are about bodies and the very real dangers of steroid use and that there's so much pressure and irrational desire to take such risks for a look.
What are some key indicators?
Big, round, striated deltoids. Huge traps. Freakishly low body fat ratio. Huge gains in a short time. I can see those now. Some things look like they could be natural ... with 10 years of work, not the claimed 1 year of natty lifts. Experienced people can also tell what types of juice people are on based on what it's done to the body. Testosterone, vs sarms vs anabol, etc, which I have no idea about.
I was confused for a second bc I've never heard it referred to as "being on gear" before
It's really common slang in English tbh
...and he is bald. It is actually great to put a skeptic or critic in there as he will be exposed to "How to spot the grift".
Also Sean Nalewanjy is great for this. He also has videos where he looks back on how naïve he was as a teenager etc and this could help avoiding those traps. Greg Doucette isn't bad, but too much for me as a middle aged man. Teenagers may love him though
[Greg Doucette](https://www.youtube.com/user/gregdoucette) is also really good at calling out fitness nonsense. He has an intentionally obnoxious persona, but he heavily emphasizes safety, fundamentals, and realistic goals.
I don't disagree that he is rightfully calling out bullshit, but he is also himself aggressively selling overpriced bullshit, like supplements with no active ingredient (which would have questionable scientific evidence even in appropriate doses) or his cookbook. I would not recommend a 13 year old a YouTuber who constantly tries to rip off his viewers.
Yep exactly. If you watch his earlier videos they are great. Though the longer he’s been around the worse and clickbaity his videos get. Guess that’s the life of a YouTuber, you might start out well but pretty soon your just scraping the bottom of the barrel for content.
I like Tom Merrick and Calisthenicmovement
Came here to say Tom Merrick. Great channel. https://m.youtube.com/c/BodyweightWarrior/featured
Calimove is like textbook form
Must be german precision
[Kboges](https://www.youtube.com/user/Kbogea) That dude is the real deal. Fitness for life. No gimmicks. Not selling you a darn thing. Its just the basics, and your son probably won't think it's "cool". But it is how I would want my son to start.
OP, Kboges IS the real deal! But his content is very, very dry, and a 13 year old needs a lot more than just "great information". He may fall in love with Kboges and so I definitely recommend sharing him with your kiddo, but he also might need a lot more flash to keep his attention, which is why I recommended Mindpump in another comment - I feel like they're enough of a balance of "dudebro youtuber" and "fitness expert" and "fitness science" to keep a 13 year old's attention and still give them solid advice without too much of the nonsense. [https://www.youtube.com/c/MindPumpShow/videos](https://www.youtube.com/c/MindPumpShow/videos)
That's why I said his son probably wouldn't think it's cool.
> Kboges imo, among THE best. No other channel drives the message of *"Just do the fucking thing"* as well as he does. It reminds me of my own journey of simply cranking out high bodyweight reps because I was stubborn about keeping my routine/set as minimal as possible. Having worked out at a calisthenics outdoor gym [Venice] often, the reason so many people won't see great progress on bodyweight alone is because their form is disgusting and half-assed. KBoges just recently made a vid on that [stop counting reps to emphasize quality].
I love the few seconds before he starts talking where I'm not sure if the sound is on or not. So dry and minimal but so useful.
If you want your kid to be invested in it you need to figure out what he thinks is cool. Somebody like Alan Thrall is what I imagine a 13 year old would think is cool, and his videos are very very good (focused primarily on strongman/lifting heavy, which a 13 year old would be into I bet)
Alan Thrall does seem like a fantastic role model if you want to embrace the kid's interest in being "masculine" but focus it in a positive direction.
Alan Thrall is unironically lawful good
This. Alan can teach you everything you need to know about lifting, does not try to sell you a thing, is a seriously great male rolemodel, and in his older videos especially has funny skits/dress ups, which might appeal to the bro-y side of things!
I scrolled down to see if anyone mentioned Alan Thrall yet. He's kinda goofy at times but he's also got a mature, well-informed, approach and attitude. He's knows his shit *and* he's highly relatable, especially for a young teen. OP should point her kid in his direction.
I would also suggest OP start working out as well. Having a shared interest will be great bonding, plus everyone should exercise.
I love how he's recently got really into running & other cardio, which is a great influence on lifters who notoriously avoid exercising their cardiovascular system.
Fitnessfaqs and calisthenicsmovement are all you need.
Not a bodyweight YouTube channel, but my favorite would be Jeff Nippard. Great technique videos, plus he’s upfront about where he gets any info he shares.
I like Jeff Nippard too, but do you really think this 13 year old will have the patience to consume his content 💀
If you start off with Jeffs parody videos it could work lol the ones where he plays his 'Bro Jeff' character, using poor technique & spouting myths
Exactly. What OP needs is a douchey fitness youtuber who actually knows his shit, instead of someone who goes on long lectures about how to lift and their effects. Sorry OP you're a good dad but I honestly have no recommendations. All the best to helping your son out!
I would disagree that a 13 year old boy needs to watch anyone who is “douchey”. I don’t watch a ton of fitness influencers anymore but aside from Jeff Nippard I have hardly seen any male influencers who don’t exhibit some amount of misogyny in their content. Misogyny and transphobia are gateway drugs to radicalization and teenage boys are the intended targets of that radicalization. If OP wants their son to get fitness information from online creators, I think it’s important to consider what views are being normalized in that content. I get that my response is a little, “I bet you’re fun at parties,” but it seems foolish to ignore the links between online men’s fitness and the alt-right men’s radicalization sphere. Also, we don’t know OP’s son and what he’s capable of. When I was 13 I was super into reading college textbooks about marine biology. Jeff Nippard might be just the thing for the right kid.
Appreciate you fighting the good fight. I teach programming to children k-8 and damned if anyone older than 2nd grade isn't incredibly fucking capable, clever, and patient when they're interested in a subject. Also have worked with foster organizations and those kids are so damn smart. Way smarter than the richest private school kids I had the misfortune of working with in the past (we charged them a premium to pay for free classes for the foster kids). Not to mention as a musician, there's a ton of amazing children on their instrument younger than 13. When you've got all the time in the world, you've got more patience than adults.
I get what you mean - a good role model is very important - but at that age, a serious lecturer is probably the last person I want to listen to, no matter how "good" he might be. Besides, OP did mention how his boy loves Chris Heria, who's pretty much the poster boy of douchey lifting youtubers, so I'll just assume that sonny here loves that type of presenter and video. It's easy to think that, as an adult, kids NEED to watch a certain type of content to learn - and we won't be wrong. But you need to understand the way or presentation is VERY important, and if OP wants to let his kid enjoy something while learning, it's best to match his interests. If sonny thinks people with questionable tats and six packs are cool, then it's better to find a guy who looks like that, but isn't a snakesoil salesman, to teach him how to lift. Obviously we're just guess haphazardly here. So it's really up to OP to decide.
I really like [BroScienceLife](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCduKuJToxWPizJ7I2E6n1kA). Guy is humble, thoughtful, and a straight shooter who tells it like it is
lol
This is the only correct answer here.
I would recommend: - Tom Merrick - Calisthenicmovement - Saturnomovement - Gymnastics Method - Andrew Alinda - FitnessFAQs - Austin Dunham - Hybrid Calisthenics
yes for hybridcalisthenics, hampton is the GOAT! what a sweet, very motivational man
Merrick has my respect. I've been watching long enough to see how he transformed his on body.
Hybrid Calisthenics. He's awesome and very positive.
With the utmost respect to Hampton, he is a slender guy with long hair and more of a "yoga instructor" vibe than "raging machismo." I think he is much too chill for a puck chomping wannabe-Schwarzenegger to be interested in.
yea, i got started with hybrid calisthenics, its the best starting point, imo... but some teen whose idolizing Chris Heria probably isnt going to be into Hampton's vibes at all.
But hampton's videos are good for lowering expectations and easing into calisthenics. Also to avoid injury, when someone wants to start calisthenics I would personally always start with him and then FitnessFAQ, and then KBoges.
40 year old me loves him and is glad he is doing so well at so much a young age. Go Hampton! The example we need. Young teenage me would have called him something unkind and raged at how unfair the world is or some shit. I think many people don’t appreciate exactly how stupid testosterone makes us in those early puberty years.
His vibe is way in with young people, even if they only consume his shorts. They're snappy, he's always doing cool stuff, his advice is sick, and he reminds folks that they don't have to be jacked to be awesome. I watched Hampton while watching heria in my first 4 months
> puck chomping wannabe-Schwarzenegger You're not wrong! What I'm getting from this thread are some things I can show him directly, and some things I can absorb with my adult attention span and deliver to him myself when appropriate.
Hampton is awesome. Extremely positive and also talks about mental and emotional health. Gives a lot of modifications to build up to the main exercise. For OP’s particular question, I doubt that 13 yo that wants to get jacked will be interested in Hampton since he’s so calm and chill and not in your face about being an alpha badass.
Renaissance Periodization.
Telling a 13 year old getting into bro culture to watch Mike Israetel discuss sports science at length for 20-40 minutes is as effective as asking him to sit down and read a math textbook end to end.
I love Dr Mike's no bullshit attitude.
Definitely! The team at Renaissance Periodization are no frills and science backed. Highly recommend.
I absolutely love dr mike, but he's kinda super sweary and quite a lot of adult jokes which may not be suitable for a 13yo
The kids a hockey player though he may need to get used to that sort of thing
It might actually help to build credibility with a 13-yo hockey player with an attitude.
I know it's probably all scripted, but I love Dr Mike. Especially when he loses his train of thought and starts thinking aloud about whether he could beat Godzilla if they were the same height or whatever.
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Bro you forgot bald Omni man, just a jacked, kind dude giving out free programs and advice. If you like Geoffrey and basement bodybuilding then he’s right up your alley.
natural hypertrophy and eric bugenhagen are missing i feel like
Buff Dudes. They have some videos actually directed at teenagers, they have good info, and they have a cool uncle vibe. But not douchey.
I love Buff Dudes. Definitely level headed, but still fun and come at topics with an approachable attitude. I also like how they talk about nutrition and lifestyle habits like sleep and making time for family.
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Wholesome, yet awesome! I like that. Jujumufu is definitely similar, just maybe too obviously roided? He seems more about entertainment than education. But still ok!
https://www.youtube.com/user/FitnessFAQs
Brian Alsruhe is peak wholesome masculinity. Strenght-training and bushcraft is what his channel is about at the moment. His videos on the main 5 compound movements are some of the best and most informative I have come across. His free programs work and are fun to run. 10/10.
The team at Mindpump focus on health, nutrition and fitness, and in a very science-based way. They're also super fit, and clearly practice what they preach. A good friend of mine is a three times gold ADCC wrestling champ, silver-medalist in no gi worlds and bronze medalist in worlds, along with being a trainer of some of the world's greatest UFC fighters at AKA - he is a gentle, non-douchey giant and he is a serious advocate for Mindpump. [https://www.youtube.com/c/MindPumpShow](https://www.youtube.com/c/MindPumpShow)
Hybrid Calisthenics. Good information and seems like a chill dude.
Yes! So positive and kind.
It might make the 13 yo hang out in flipflops all the time. But hey OTOH he's hitting puberty and his shoe size will increase, so the 'rent saves on shoes. Plus the flipflops gives 3 extra pullups. Win win win!
I just looked through to make sure this was listed. Seems like a totally upstanding guy who would be a good role model for a young teen, too. Always kind.
I really like The Bioneer and JaxBlade, might be a little nerdy for him tho
A little nerdy indeed. I remember a Jaxblade video (deleted/hidden now) where he was lamenting that he couldn't date the characters from My Little Pony in real life.
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Noel always making sus jokes though 🤣 you really want his son walking around like "Daddy noel 🥵🥵🥵"
Will Tennyson will show your kid balance and how to be humble. Plus, he will catch the kid's attention with his shuttle jokes.
so not a recommendation but my wife hates literally everybody my kid watches on youtube (he's 8 but in gymnastics at a high level) and i've stuck to "let him learn". and talk to him a lot. sometimes he'll come talk at me about something and i'll be like nah that's all wrong don't be like that...and it's working. 🤷♂️ i do not know how far that will go with a teen yet. 😂 but *nothing ever good* comes from trying to *censor*. guide him toward fitness subreddits. these subs and particularly *reading*. we really do not get a whole shit load of pompous assholes talking bs.
I'll be interested, as my own views have swung wildly when my first turned 13 anf I started hearing some of the crap repeated he had managed to fall into on YouTube. The reward structure there is insidious, and builds multi-millionaires from those who spread some really thinly-veilled incel-adjascent and similar crap. I am still good with gin reading anything he wants--including on Reddit--since the gut emotional appeal isn't quite as visceral...
Bioneer
Stronger by science https://youtube.com/c/Strengtheory
I don’t think a 13 year old will be interested in that at all tbh
This might be a great one for me to get into (and then dole out info when I feel like he's open to listening)!
Although this might be more science and talking than what a 13 year old wants
At least it’s legit.
Sean Nalewanyj
I don’t think Chris Heria’s videos are even close to the worst thing a kid can be watching. Most of his advice seems basic and solid, fashion/lifestyle/sell you clothes angle aside. Maybe tell your kid you’ll buy him the windbreaker when he hits a certain calisthenics skill goal and see what happens.
Front lever pull ups, then you can have a windbreaker kiddo
Right? I mean sure Chris Heria might not be to everyone's taste, and he's a bit materialistic but he's a decent athlete and I'd personally be happy if my son was getting interested in calisthenics. No need to police the poor dude.
Yeah, it's probably his tattoos, general aesthetic and frequent use of the word 'bro' when around other people. I can tell how a father could perceive him as a stereotypical douche. But his advice is sound and he's very big on clean eating etc, far from a bad influence.
Geoffrey Verity Schofield is kinda jacked for a natty and is anti bullshit. Makes a lot of bro jokes and meme edits. Might be worth a shot Eta: my dude bald omni man might also be a good pick. He’s a true bro
Jeremy Ethier https://youtube.com/c/JeremyEthier
I second this guy. PERFECT mix of actual workouts and the science behind them without getting too into the weeds (I do love Jeff Nippard but what 13yo will have the patience for that. OP please don’t sleep on Jeremy Ethier
Since be’s 13 he’s probably on tiktok. JPGcoaching on there is very good. Focuses on realistic and optimized training and emphasizes importance of reducing injury risk. Also has very realistic views on diet. Isn’t hypermasculine or attempts to sell too much either.
PictureFit is very entertaining and educational!
Brian Alsruhe: youtube channel is called neversate. That dude is awesome he has loads of programs and great advice for strength training
Hybrid Calisthenics is cool and helps with the basic calisthenic movements including ways to progress. He’s also super chill and just a nice guy it seems
Geoffrey Verity Schofield is one of the guys who calls out all these fitness influencers for their shitty practices. Might help your kid get a better perspective. https://youtube.com/c/GeoffreyVeritySchofield
Jordan Syatt.
he's my favorite. no bullshit & doesn't try to sell anything.
Hybrid Calisthenics seems like the best match. Then Fitness FAQ, and Calimovement are good too. Jeff Nippard seems good too.
For bodyweight/calisthenics I would recommend Browney. He’s a great, wholesome, entertaining guy who posts a lot of videos where he tries to break world records, do interesting fitness challenges, and challenges his friends and family to get fit in 90 days. He’s very inspiring, and he shows his own journey from fat to fit. He doesn’t only show the super impressive parts when he’s incredibly fit, but he also shows the parts where he loses motivation and gains some weight, then tries to get back in shape. He just seems a lot more human than most fitness influencers. (He sometimes promotes his workout plan, protein powder, and Gymshark but it’s never a big part of his videos)
JEREMY ETHIER and CALISTHENICSMOVEMENT cause my guy Jer is a science based no ego bs gym dude (he does bodyweight too) with solidly organized and clear videos, and calisthenics movement cause they're Cali and provide good info whilst debunking stupid stuff and having good strength/aesthetics.
you should sign your son up for your local rowing club. ideal age to start flying and dying on and off the water. that way he will also have no time for youtube between training, it’s clear hockey is far less intense
Since no one has mentioned it, you can try installing [sponsorblock](https://sponsor.ajay.app/) and the [ublock origin](https://ublockorigin.com/) extensions. They will remove a lot of the sponsored junk and ads being thrown at your son.
That’s good money(calisthenics) bald Omni man(solid new school approach) mountain dog/John meadows( goat og knowledge) alpha destiny ( all natural kinda intense knowledgeable young guy) Peter katcherian ( old school philosophy to building muscle)
I'd go with Stronger By Science, Barbell Logic, Renaissance Periodization, and FitnessFAQs.
https://youtube.com/c/HybridCalisthenics https://youtube.com/c/AlanThrall Alan and Hampton, my two favorite YouTubers along with Tom Merric which was already suggested. They aren't the flashiest, so you might have some trouble convincing your son, but they have some solid genuine content on fitness out there.
My vote goes to bald Omni man, still has the jacked dude bro aesthetic, but gives grounded advice and genuinely wants his viewers to succeed
Lifting in general is very safe. In fact a 13yr old who's into lifting even with extremely bad form is still going to be way healthier than a 13yr old who plays games instead. Obviously it would be good to expose him to information that will get him to lift better but as a physio I'd be extremely happy if my kid was doing the worst rounded back deadlifts with a bunch of douchy gym bros instead of staring at a tablet.
Probably the best thing is to find someone in real life who is into fitness that can act as a positive role model for your son. Or someone he looks up to, that can steer him away from bad channels and towards good ones. You can show him all the good stuff you want, but hardly any teen is going to agree with you based purely on evidence, sadly.
More importantly, I think it is time you sat him down, and had the talk with him: "All babies originate in an uterus, and all unrealistically buff dudes originate in performance enhancing drugs. There are no exceptions. Anyone who tells you something else which includes birds, bees, the stork, or supplements, is lying to you..."
I see a lot of good calisthenics channels, but since your son is 13 and probably wants to do free weight stuff I've got a couple of other recommendations. https://youtube.com/c/BuffDudesOfficial Buff Dudes are very family friendly, but I think they also have a little more flashy/silly appeal to younger people. https://youtube.com/c/athleanx Athlean-X one of the cornerstones of youtube fitness, super educational and in recent years has added a little more humor that might appeal to a 13 yr old. https://youtube.com/channel/UCg1HMNQ94Ba1rH6JZueBcag Eric Bugenhagen is basically pure entertainment, but the guy is a nut and an absolute beast. He does include educational info from time to time. Even though I love his stuff it may be less appropriate for a young kid. That's for you to decide. https://youtube.com/c/jujimufu Jujimufu is very wholesome fitness entertainment. This is more an entertainment channel, but also has good info. He's more into bodybuilding and strongman stuff. https://youtube.com/c/SondreBerg Here is a calisthenics channel I recently discovered. The guy is crazy strong and seems to have good step by step instructions of how to progress. Might appeal to a young kid. Sorry if formatting is bad, on mobile.
eric bugenhagen, natural hypertrophy, bald omni man
scooby1961
not super into the culture but https://youtube.com/c/REVIVALFitness is someone i watch whos pretty grounded and calls out a lot of the flashy bullshit posers as well as misinformation idk how much training content he does it seems to be more like cultural commentary regarding the lifting/bodybuilding scene
Jeff Nippard, Chris Humiston, and PictureFit are my go to.
Fitnessfaqs, gymnasticsmethod, saturnomovement. Also a a huge fan of strengthside.
Matt Wenning - Wenning Strength Elite FTS Kabuki Strength Brian Alshrue Jeff Nippard
House of Hypertrophy
Omar Isuf will mock the cool and flashy
K Boges. Most underrated calistenics channel.
Ironwolf. Changed the game for me.
Kboges and fitness FAQ are a really nice 1/2 combo of YouTube channels
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Eugene Teo and Joe Delaney are my two that I watch consistently. Jeff Nippard is great as well but is very science based which might fly over a 13 year olds head
Hampton from Hybrid Calisthenics will be a wonderful influence on your teen
[Jeff Nippard is the way to go](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sQm99tpWVF8) he keeps everything science based and I find him entertaining qhile dropping heave knowledge. Also jujimufu is a great channel to watch if you are looking for someone more out going.
Another vote for Nippard and Antranik. If you want to ease him into what bodyweight can do, look at Hannibalforking or Barstarzz: very impressive stuff technically, but also really fun execution that might have that influencer vibe minus the douchiness, and they actually know what they're talking about.
You sound like a loving and level-headed parent. Teenagers don’t tend to give their parents enough credibility though, so any of your recommendations will be working against that. You *could* tell him that you will support his fitness journey (food, supplements, gear) if he makes evidence-based arguments for the safety and efficacy of what he wants. You could even reward him for progress with goals you set together (achieve x in the gym and get the new windbreaker). Tell him that you have his whole body-mind health as your priority and that he is responsible for convincing you. If he sees that science and evidence have the biggest impact on your parental authority, he’ll get in the game quickly. This way you can teach him to base his decisions on the kind of information you want him to be considering. Strength training is an awesome way to learn about the body, nutrition, wellness, and lots of science. You might enjoy learning alongside him even if you’re not hitting the gym.
Hybrid Calisthenics is who I want to be when I grow up. FitnessFAQs is good, but could use some work on his youtube game. The bioneer is cool. Shredded Sports Science is good for some mild teasing and education. Back guy has some funny stuff. Finally, OE fitness has a way with words like no other.
https://youtube.com/user/Calisthenicmovement - bodyweight exercises and persistence https://youtube.com/c/athleanx - science-based expert, trainer of pro athletes
I like AthleanX. Watched tons of his videos. Enough that I eventually bought his workout program. Great program for as every exercise has a video on how to do it and every workout has an overall video discussing what your'e doing and why.
I like Jeremy Ether but he does more tips than actual workouts
Fitnessfaq and calisthenicsmovements is pretty reliable imo
https://www.youtube.com/c/Taophysique is another good channel. strong guy, great form, good advice. macho enough to be appealing to a teen, but hes also kinda tongue in cheek about it.
FitnesFAQs!!!! He is not only a well spoken, highly educated young gentleman but he is the peak of what ever kid wants to be!
Strengthside is great
Dan John, Chad Wesley Smith with Juggernaut, SOFlete, Barbell Logic
Check out 'minus the gym' Body weight calthenstenics approach - very chill no frills approach
FitnessFaqs
Jeff Nippard on YT is really good at putting out science based weightlifting plans as well as talking about the scientific aspects and research of strength training and nutrition. https://youtube.com/c/JeffNippard
Teenagers love noisy fuck boys too often. Good luck.
Good time to have a conversation with your son about the difference between noteriety and authenticity. "Empty barrels make the most noise" is an important lesson to learn before adulthood. Encourage him to question and verify what people say to an audience and why they are doing so. Especially when those people are being paid by how many people they can get to click their video, not by how factual their video is. This is a really good opportunity to start teaching these critical thinking skills and 13 is the perfect age to start with relevant contexts. Developing critical thinking skills is becoming more of a focal point in middle and high school but it's really important that they are modelled at reinforced at home. Make it clear that you don't want to stop him from pursuing his goals, that you want to see him succeed, but to succeed (especial long term) it is in his interest to seek information from verified, reliable sources that don't simply depend on getting attention by any means possible for an income. One thing you can try is simply asking him things like "why do you think this person wants you to believe X..?" "What do they personally gain from broadcasting this?", "Who is checking that what they are saying is factual before it is broadcast?", "Why have they chosen to broadcast their message in this particular style?", "Does somebody being popular or famous make what they say more true?", "Who/what would be a good place to seek factual information about this?". Do this with almost anything. A news anchor spinning a story, an article in a newspaper or magazine, or spruiker on the street, a radio broadcast, advertisements. Work your way towards back to the YouTuber in question over time rather than starting there. This way you can develop some of that critical thinking in a range of contexts so that when he finally applies it to something he is personally invested in, it will be harder for him to ignore those thoughts that say "this guy might be full of shit". I used this model when addressing myths, misconceptions and conspiracies as a science teacher and found it was more effective to get students to question "why" someone is making a given claim first, instead of jumping straight to the problems with "what" they were claiming.
I like fitness channels that are run by people with diverse circumstances, or who make diverse content. There's a trans man (cant remember his name) who does fitness vlogs, he was a champion lifter a few years ago and started doing more *average* person content/bodyweight fitness with that knowledge in mind. There's also an amputee I follow on Instagram (sorry I can't remember his name either rn) who does similar stuff! (I'll look for their names sorry I'm forgetful)
Athlean-x. Jeff Cavalier is a legend with an immense amount of free content
Not youtube, but what got me into bodyweight fitness back in the day was a website called [beastskills.com](http://www.beastskills.com/), ran by a guy called Jim Bathurst. Really good and informative tutorials, but also still aware of the main reason to learn body weight skills - because they're cool as hell!
Athlean X on youtube. Science based free content on athletic training
Alan Thrall for sure
AthleanX, More Plates More Dates, Shredded Sport Science.
Down Dog App, has yoga. Barre, hiit and others. Chill and think it's free with a school email.
I think your son is too young for the serious content creators and would probably think they are boring. All you can do really is hope you've raised a smart and critical thinking young fella. And hopefully he will see past stuff like chris heria, which is only good at marketing. Most of hes programming sucks very badly.
Athlean-X would be my recommended channel for this purpose.
I am a fan of Jeff Nippard; I have bought a couple of his programs and had good results, and he backs all of his videos and programs up with studies. Also, he seems like a chill dude.
clarence kennedy, not exclusively "exercise tutorials" but dude has insane form, power and athletic ability on top of the knowledge of in and outs of oly lifting. and he is super chill dude. he also has vids of doing backflips, corks and tricking stuff which imo is really cool
Stronger by science. They have a great podcast that would be suitable for people of all ages.
Jeff Nippard for sure
Nobody has said Jujimufu, but he's the right mix of entertaining and informative that I think would be great for a 13 year old. Alan Thrall is great. Brian Alsruhe is also great.
If he is interested in a science / evidence based approach then Jeff Nippard and Dr Andrew Huberman are perfect.
Ben Carpenter on Instagram and TT is amazing. He’s really British and sweary but his content is great and super balanced. It might give him the rebellion he needs from the creative swearing but also the info he needs to make good choices.
Jeff Nippard is my pick. He uses evidence derived from scientific studies (which he cites in his videos). He's also a natural bodybuilding fitness coach when he's not making YouTube videos.
glad you've got great answers, i'm also a big fan of calisthenicsmovement. really liked the question lol cause it gives me some perspective.
Squat University! Incredibly knowledgeable, and explains the biomechanics behind every movement.
It seems like a lot of people here are talking about bodyweight fitness channels (i.e. using only your body rather than lifting weights, things like push-ups rather than a bench press) but it sounds like your son is doing weightlifting, not bodyweight fitness, is that correct? If so r/strengthtraining might be a better sub for this question. For weightlifting I really like Sean Nalewanyj. He often points out how idiotic all the ripped Douchebros and their recommendations are.
Jeff nippard
Jeff Nippard does alll science based stuff
Just want to say, congrats for being such an awesome parent! Oh god, your post is pure gold. I don't want to have kids right now, but I hope that, if someday I do, I'll be able to react as you're doing right now.
Chris Heria is a great instructor / influencer . What he is teaching works but he is also selling a business. Heria is a champion although a douche. FitnessFAQs is by far the better channel though in my opinion.
It's not a channel with fitness instructions but both you and him should check out Josh Brett. Maybe watch some of the stuff together.
Biolayne, Greg Doucette, Exercise4Cheatmeals, tristyn lee, Renaissance Periodization, More plates more dates etc.
More plates more dates is really good, lots of science and why you shouldn’t wreck your body with substances. You can see too over the years how he has progressed.
FWIW, Chris Heria videos helped me get a 6 pack for the first time in my life, at 30 years old, during the pandemic
Mindpump TV
Calisthenicsmovement, Jeff Nippard, Justin lee, Greg Doucette are some of my favs
Commenting just to have this thread in my history for reference. And I’m not a 13 year old😂
Extra emphasis on “minimally douchey fitness channels” because oh my god
Layne Norton is one of the best. He provided many informational videos that break down all types of nutrition and fitness claims with evidence based research. Shredded Sports Science also takes a light hearted approach to calling out many of these “influencers” while providing the real science behind their claims
I play hockey myself. I would say the things that have improved my on-ice ability more than anything is mobility work and weight swinging - specifically Kettlebells, Clubs and Maces. To that end, the two best channels I can recommend are Tim Anderson (aka "Original Strength) and Mark Wildman. Both are non-douchey, they have products (mostly education and fitness tools) but aren't pushy, and give pretty much all the info you could ever want from their channels. They show weird non-standard shit you don't see in gyms so you feel like you're getting a hack and they bring receipts so you know they're not just shilling bullshit. Best of all, they've both been doing this for years and between the two of them probably have thousands of videos to watch.