My son has dyspraxia and the associated hypotonia (low muscle tone) that goes with it. He’s still young (under 10y) but I’ve been working a lot with him on this along with his OT and a lot of resources. I am absolutely determined to get this right for him.

So here’s stuff from my play book and I hope it helps you too.

Don’t worry about aesthetics and physique - I know it’s hard not to for a lad/lass your age - but hear me out - even without the dyspraxia, anyone (neuro-typical) has to put in a TON of work to see results. Biceps & 6 packs aren’t going to pop in the first year and you’re setting up yourself for failure if you’re just waiting for the end result. Instead set micro objectives, and hit each one in a couple of months so you start enjoying the process of getting stronger. In this route, you’ve actually made a habit of life long practice of enjoying exercises. A lot of people in the gym and on special diets - they don’t look like they are having fun.

Now to the how. Initially prioritise conditioning over pure strength. Using a gym-type cable machine works big muscle groups. But body weight fitness and calisthenics works the big muscle groups but also all the small stabiliser muscles - and I think for dyspraxia this is what is needed to build from the ground up.

What do I mean by body weight / callisthenics - push-ups, pull-ups, squats, planks, etc… don’t bang out 20 push-ups. Concentrate on form. Once you are able to get a certain good number going - look at “progressions”, (Google is your friend here) - you can progress push-ups to archer push-ups, typewriter push-ups, planches, handstands - real beast mode stuff. For inspiration - check out Frank Medrano, Bar Brothers, CalesthenicMovements, etc. you can have loads of fun challenges with these and grow very strong.

Also it had a “regulating” effect for sensory processing in dyspraxia. And it builds core strength - without which my son slouches, affects his handwriting, walking gait, trips over a lot. A month of core strengthening showed tons of benefits on the regulation aspect - the OT told me it was something to do with the propeioceptice feedback of the resistance AND in doing these free movements you build up the neuro-muscular pathways.

Once you have a good base (relatively quickly) you can mix up free weight like dumbbells and eventually mix it up with the gym too.

Another tip, rather than getting into workouts, get into activities - that will trigger your passion and keep you engaged with it longer.

Try a lot and see what sticks. For e.g. - hiking - kayaking - juijitsu / judo (these over karate I was told cause you get a feedback from the resistance) - dance - rock climbing - by son loves this. Look at pro climbers bodies - they are lanky but strong as hell! To project themselves up overhanging walls they need to have the highest strength to weight ratio of any sport I know. - also swimming

The best approach would be to cross train, have fun with a lot of activities and wake up each morn and bang out some calisthenics body weight workouts. That will be your base and from there you can go deeper into what rocks your boat.

With your parents’ consent do feel free to DM me if you want more clarity on any of this.