Young Age and Lifting

[footster]

I was always told working out at a very young age, 13 14 15 or 16 years old can hinder growth platelets. I was just wondering if this was true. I mean maybe a couple times picking up light weight might be okay. But just curious.

[andrew732]

depends on intensity and what muscles you work on.

[Pemmican]

i have always been taught that it is better to start training with high reps, low weight as early as 12 or 13. By increasing muscle strength, you make it easier to grow as long as you train light and remain flexible

[Kristofer68SS]

i agree with the last post.....

i would say to wait to do any serious lifting until about 14.......

I mean, lets look back in history.....Its wasnt long ago, kids were working there ass' off in the factories, mines and in the fields..........

Yound kids, very young........

[footster]

i agree with the last post.....

i would say to wait to do any serious lifting until about 14.......

I mean, lets look back in history.....Its wasnt long ago, kids were working there ass' off in the factories, mines and in the fields..........

Yound kids, very young........

yeah just not sure how they developed lol. high reps low weight...yeah makes sense. keep that in mind. thank you.

[crazyfool405]

and stay awsy from squats and anything that compresses the spine i would say,

do more functional training, and body weight exercises as well

[Necroticism]

and stay awsy from squats and anything that compresses the spine i would say,

do more functional training, and body weight exercises as well

i disagree with staying away from squats entirely. i would have them do very light squats, its better for them to get the form down while they're young, so they dont have to learn it later on. i doubt having a 45 lb bar on a kids back for a total times of about 2-5 minutes twice a week is going to do that much damage to their growth plates.

[crazyfool405]

i disagree with staying away from squats entirely. i would have them do very light squats, its better for them to get the form down while they're young, so they dont have to learn it later on. i doubt having a 45 lb bar on a kids back for a total times of about 2-5 minutes twice a week is going to do that much damage to their growth plates.

i wouldnt consider that a bad thing, its when you ADD plates lol, ive never met some one that after they can sqaut with proper form wont want to add plates.

but you can use dumbells, too

[Necroticism]

maybe, but then again a couple years back there was a kid that went to the same middle school as my brother, who has been lifting since he was 8, heavily. the kid went into 9th grade at 6'0 tall, weighing 230 with a 315 bench and 405 squat. pretty ridiculous, but it didnt look like his growth plates closed much.

[crazyfool405]

maybe, but then again a couple years back there was a kid that went to the same middle school as my brother, who has been lifting since he was 8, heavily. the kid went into 9th grade at 6'0 tall, weighing 230 with a 315 bench and 405 squat. pretty ridiculous, but it didnt look like his growth plates closed much.

i wish thats wen i started lol!!!!

but who knows, everybodies body responds differently, so its best to keep it safe, goto the doctor and find out what the deal is.

[footster]

wow thats sick. But yea i agree, everybodys body responds differently. thanks for the help.

[John Smeton]

I'd say start lifting at 14 -15(for most normal aged kids) and do higher reps. Wait in till your 16 or over too go lower reps

[DreamWeaver]

Your bones are not ready for an kind if heavy lifting untill your around 16 maybe more. You can use the couple years to prepare yourself somewhat however by using isolated exercises and low weight. This is a great time to perfect your technique so you can avoid injury when you can lift heavy.

Even at 16, you don't just say ok now lift however you want. You need to continue to work on technique and slowly increase strength using good form. Some are very strong and will start lifting heavier quicker this is all relative. 300 lb squats may be very light for some but very heavy for others. It's all about what you can do using good form for a determined number of reps. Low rep routines can probably wait till a person so 17 or 18, depending on the person. Some very thick boned 16 year olds around and they may progress faster.

One thing is fore sure between the ages of 14-18 lifters should be closely monitored by an expert at all times. This depends a lot on the persons level also. The things I see young people doing in the gym, ranges from dangerous to ridiculous. 95% of them are doing something very wrong at any given time in most gyms.

[bigthick44]

pushups situps and pull ups should be enough until 15 or 16. I started low reps going into 7th grade, and i was fine, but not everyones genetics allow for that

[Big BAMA]

pushups situps and pull ups should be enough until 15 or 16. I started low reps going into 7th grade, and i was fine, but not everyones genetics allow for that

I don't see the effectiveness of a heavy workout regime if the Natural test production hasn't really kicked in yet.
What I mean is most of us didn't see any major body changes until we reached puberty and our test production started to kick in. before then most of us had a child's body that allowed us to run forever and play all day. I understand the need and want of the younger people to be Huge but I try to be realistic. 13yr olds shouldn't be squatting 500lbs. That said, My three yr old benches 250lbs. But I won't let him shoot more than 1000mgs of cyp a week.

[AZMIDLYF]

Body weight is the way to go starting around 11 yrs. Sit ups,pushups,pull ups, lunges,hypers and such. Core strength and balance until the test starts. From 16 on start bringing in the compound weight movements and go from there. I never drop reps below 6 on anything. Like to keep it closer to 10 actually. My 17 yr old son is 5'10"/200 and squats 360x10 just for an example of where it has taken him!!

[DreamWeaver]

Body weight is the way to go starting around 11 yrs. Sit ups,pushups,pull ups, lunges,hypers and such. Core strength and balance until the test starts. From 16 on start bringing in the compound weight movements and go from there. I never drop reps below 6 on anything. Like to keep it closer to 10 actually. My 17 yr old son is 5'10"/200 and squats 360x10 just for an example of where it has taken him!!

Yes I have had similar experience with my son... with similar time lines.

[AZMIDLYF]

DW, my son plays hockey and has since an early age. His lower body is unbelievably powerful but his upper is average. We are working on it. Saw your were from hockey land...

[DreamWeaver]

DW, my son plays hockey and has since an early age. His lower body is unbelievably powerful but his upper is average. We are working on it. Saw your were from hockey land...

Yah we are but were a football family would have been easier for us in a lot of ways if it was hockey but I just always loved football and my son picked up on it. Hek my daughter was the first female QB in the league.

[Bum Mahoney]

DW, my son plays hockey and has since an early age. His lower body is unbelievably powerful but his upper is average. We are working on it. Saw your were from hockey land...

My son is the same, hockey since four, three years of football.