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........
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.
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 don't see the effectiveness of a heavy workout regime if the Natural test production hasn't really kicked in yet.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
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!!
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...
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...