Weight lifting for pre-teens

The_Sandra

My son is turning 12 in a little over a week (um, how did that happen so quickly?!), and at our family club when kids are 12 they can get a wristband that allows them to be in the "adult" part of the gym with all of the cardio machines and weights (only when chaperoned by a parent). He asked me if he can start coming with me a couple mornings per week after his birthday because he wants to start weight training. I think it's a good idea, but I want to make sure that it's going to be safe for his growing body. He plays basketball, soccer, and swims, so I'm not worried about cardio. I think he's starting to notice girls and wants to grow some muscles : /

Does anybody have recommendations for a program that would be good for a pre-teen?

mjudd1990

I'd tell him to wait on weights for a few years. I myself started doing resistance exercise at 13 but it was just push ups, pull ups, and ab exercises aka only using my own body weight for resistance. Most kids at 12 aren't gonna be able to lift much and their bodies are not used to weight training at all yet so they set themselves up for using bad form and getting injured. Also many people (including myself) believe that premature heavy lifting will cause early growth plate closure and stunt kids growth. In short tell the little man to just get good at crankin out push ups, sit ups, and pull ups for awhile. This will give him a solid foundation for when he does start lifting weights and will still get him the musculature he wants. Be prepared to keep all those teeny boppers away from him using a sharp stick haha

I started lifting around 14-15 for football and powerlifting but again that was after a year or two of nothing but body weight exercises and have never had any lasting injuries and ended up being 6'3"

iplayoutside19

Had this discussion with my wife the other night. I think 12 is too young, but not by much. We agreed that the earliest our kids would start lifting...if they wanted to, and one of them does, SHE is 9, was when they started the 9th grade. I'm with judd, that I beleive that starting them too early will have adverse affects on their growing potential.

but, that's not to say body weight exercises aren't a suitable alternative.

The_Sandra

Thanks for the opinions! We're a pretty active family (we have a pull-up bar in our living room!) and all of our kids do bodyweight exercises for fun: pushups, pullups, squat tabatas, and that ab roller thing that my mother-in-law gave to them because they all used it so much whenever we went to visit them. I wouldn't allow him to do any heavy or technical/oly lifting yet, but I'll admit that when he asked I thought it was cool that he wants to spend time with his mama lifting weights! Also, an education is in order, because the other day he told me to check out his "abs" as he was flexing and pointing to his pecs...

gmhaggie06

I don't know if it was right, but my dad waited for my voice to drop and the peach fuzz to sprout before taking me to the gym (about 13-14) I think that's a really good age. Hopefully he turns into an iron junky!!!

_John_

I started essentially a 5x5 type workout with bench press, squats, hang cleans, dips/lat pulldowns and shoulder press when I was 12 for football training.

abickford82

Good question. I wanted to know the answer to this, too and did some research and this was the most legit article:

http://www.kidsgrowth.com/resources/articledetail.cfm?id=404

I wanted my daughter (she'll be 12 in September) to start strength training but after plenty of research found that it's best to wait till she's an older teen. Most I found was b/c they aren't done growing, sexual health, etc.

wolfsbayne

My son started weight lifting at 12 or 13. He played football for the middle school and they weight trained in the off season. It really leaned him out (he was a little chunky). The coaches spotted them and taught them correct form. He did this from that age until he stopped playing football at 16 to get a job. It was at that point, he was squatting 300 lbs. His body weight was 140 at that time.

RomaWT

My son is 14. He has been working out on the weight machines for at least a year and a half. So he started when he was 12 +. However, our gym has an instructor and a program designed for pre-teens and teens. So I think he has learned to us the equipment in a safe manner. This program has done wonders for his overall health and endurance. If it had not been for the instructor, I would not have allowed my preteen on the weight machines.

I had to laugh at the pecs vs abs

mustgetmuscles1

Perfectly safe (as safe as other sports when precautions are taken) and is healthy for them. I compiled a bunch of links (actual science) on it here.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1136184-weightlifting-for-children?hl=weightlifting+kids#posts-17656206

rduhlir

If the gym allows the kid in the workout area under supervision, then there shouldn't be a problem with it. I don't really see the huge difference between letting a 12 year old use equipment compared to a child who is a year older in high school where weight lifting a PT class option.

My personal suggestion, and this comes from what my parents did when I was finally old enough to go into the YMCA workout area, is see if there is a class available at the gym for kids who are ready to start investing in fitness. The YMCA had a 4 week course, one class a week, where they taught how muscles worked, why lifting helped them, gave a basic nutrition information, and then your last class you broke up into groups of 2 and learned how to properly use the equipment with one of the instructors. You weren't allowed in the free weight area until you were 16, and then you had to go through another class.

If something like that isn't available, then perhaps look into paying for one PT session, so that they can go through with your son and teach him the proper form and use of each piece of equipment there.

richardheath

My son started recently, and he is 14. I have weights and a squat rack in my garage, so we do it out there together. Squats, deadlifts, presses... the whole Starting Strength thing. I'm really trying to make sure he uses good form, and we go over the book together sometimes to make sure. He's taking to it pretty well, and is already 5' 9 or 10 (just a little bit shorter than me), so I'm not too worried about him being stunted.

I think at 12 they are possibly starting to get ready, but don't force it at that age, or let him do too much.

cwolfman13

You're going to find plenty of credible evidence either way..stunts growth/doesn't stunt growth...I can only offer my anecdotal experience.

I started lifting when I was 13. My dad enrolled me in a teen strength class at his gym. I basically did a lot of body weight exercises and the big 4 compound lifts (Squat, Bench Press, Dead-Lift, Over Head Press) with minimal weight as to basically work on form and get used to the movements. It was a lot of class-room type work as well.

As I progressed, they had additional classes, but by and large it was form, form, form and learning various exercises more than it was trying to push and pull a bunch of weight. Heck, a lot of the time we were just using broom sticks and fake foam barbells for some lifts. Most of my actual work was body weight stuff and general conditioning type stuff...like pushing the sled, etc.

I was an athlete and did track and field...sprinter, jumper, and pole vaulter as well as a swimmer, so all of this really helped me. That said, I didn't get into a real, progressive lifting routine where I was trying to progressively overload until I was 15 and a freshmen in high school.

My previous couple of years of training were extremely beneficial to me though, as I already knew and had good form and already knew what exercises did what, the importance of compounds over isolation movements, etc. While a lot of my buddy's were busy busting out as many dumbbell curls as they possibly could, I was rocking power cleans like a boss.

My $.02...if you can get him into a class now or in the next couple of years that will really teach him how to lift...not just going in and trying to lift all the weights...it can be an invaluable experience. Done incorrectly though could have possible consequences. From the research I've looked at, a lot of the issues arise when kids are just left to their own devices and don't learn to lift properly and are just trying to show off and lift all the weights (which wouldn't be uncommon for a 12 y.o.).

Whether they learn now or later in their teen years, they're still going to need to learn proper form and how to lift.

By the by, I'm the tallest person in my family going back 3 generations.

50_to_lose

Children at my daughters school use the gym from the age of 11/12 and

they have to do 15 mins of cardio and 3/4 types of resistance training.

So it would be safe to say it is an age where they can weight train so long

as they are supervised and taught the correct form.

My 14 yr old daughter comes to the gym with me and we do the same exercises

except she uses very light weights and 8-12 reps so her muscles get used to

working in a somewhat unnatural way. Every rep she does is strict and if her form

starts to go then I stop her and adjust the weight or change exercise completely.

Some people recommend body weight exercise but if a child is overweight or

not strong enough they will soon become disheartened and uninterested.

Unfortunately most parents I see in the gym with there children see it as an

opportunity to show off and the child picks up their bad habits but at least the

parent is acclimatising their child to the gym environment and hopefully will

get the exercise bug.

The_Sandra

Perfectly safe (as safe as other sports when precautions are taken) and is healthy for them. I compiled a bunch of links (actual science) on it here.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1136184-weightlifting-for-children?hl=weightlifting+kids#posts-17656206

Thank you for this! I'll read through all of the linked articles in the next couple of days. I'm thinking of starting him on SL, because I've had enough training to ensure that he's doing those movements with perfect form. I wouldn't be comfortable supervising him during cleans or snatches, though.

I don't hotdog in the the gym - I'm a boring old mom, and showing off isn't worth the risk of injury, so I'm not concerned about the boy doing something stupid, either. He's a rule-follower through and through! I'll also look into consulting with a trainer who has experience working with kids.

The_Sandra

My $.02...if you can get him into a class now or in the next couple of years that will really teach him how to lift...not just going in and trying to lift all the weights...it can be an invaluable experience. Done incorrectly though could have possible consequences. From the research I've looked at, a lot of the issues arise when kids are just left to their own devices and don't learn to lift properly and are just trying to show off and lift all the weights (which wouldn't be uncommon for a 12 y.o.).

I'll look into this, but we're in kind of a small area, with not a ton of options. I don't think there are any formal classes available, but I do know some personal trainers (that I would actually trust to give credible advice), that I might be able to call upon. My husband's currently working through a pretty bad injury due to a mixture of underlying issues and some pretty bad form (he's a CrossFit casualty). So now I'm even more of a stickler for form and technique, and the only way that the boy can work out is if he's accompanied by one of his parents, so I have no problem smacking him upside the head if he tries to show off!

brianmcg321

I think 12 is a bit young. 13-14 would be about right for weights.

At 12 he should be doing a lot of body weight exercises. Pushups, pullups, free squats, etc.

GradatimFerociter

I think if your son is mature enough to listen to advice people give him so he doesn't hurt himself or end up not eating enough to cover his increased workload then he will be completely fine. I think using a particular age to decide when somebody is ready for something is arbitrary and thus usually incorrect.

The_Sandra

I think if your son is mature enough to listen to advice people give him so he doesn't hurt himself or end up not eating enough to cover his increased workload then he will be completely fine. I think using a particular age to decide when somebody is ready for something is arbitrary and thus usually incorrect.

Thank you, I think this is spot on.

And have you ever seen how a 12-year-old boy eats?! I don't think I have to worry about him wasting away any time soon!