Question for you fellas about lifting for teen boys

RachelsReboot

My son just turned 13, he's been doing the extreme makeover DVD with me for a few months and he cut out all processed foods, sugared drinks, etc... earlier this year.

He is 6 foot tall and went from 206 to 184.

He asked yesterday about lifting with me and I told him I would figure out what would be safe for him to do. Do I need to worry about him lifting being that he is so young and not done growing yet? He is really concerned about his chest and ab area, he has a lot of fat still on his chest and abs, he also wants to build his arms, he is like me and has tons more strength in his legs from walking and riding bikes a lot, but his upper body is lacking. We have a decent home gym with a 2 station cable machine which is what I use because I usually am alone when I do strength, but we do have a bench, and about 300lbs of free weights with a few different bars.

What can I get him started with and how often? He is going to take a class at the Y this summer but he still has over 2 months till that starts.

jonski1968

Personally, i wouldn`t let him go too heavy until he`s stopped growing..

But i`m sure 300 others will tell you its perfectly safe for him to DL 400lbs..

RachelsReboot

LOL, I don't think I'll be letting him do that any time soon but I do want to help him build muscle.

erickirb

I would suggest body weight exercises (push-ups, pull-ups, squats, lunges etc) for now, when he is 16 he can start lifting "heavy". Since he is young he is probably producing a lot of testosterone so may even be able to add muscle with body weight only exercises.

I ran track and we didn't start lifting until age 15, and that wasn't going super heavy.

joejccva71

He's 13, and you are having him eat clean? *puzzled look* Let him live a little as a young boy?

As far as lifting, he can start now as he's growing. Simple full body routines a few times a week will do the trick.

thebigcb

I wouldn't let him do any lifting at all at that age. He is too young.

fit4evaR

175 lost! what a role model you are! My high school son started weight-training with his team in 9th grade and its made a big difference. they dont do crazy heavy weights. its important he does the form correctly so maybe get someone to help him with the routine

AlsDonkBoxSquat

Personally, i wouldn`t let him go too heavy until he`s stopped growing..

But i`m sure 300 others will tell you its perfectly safe for him to DL 400lbs..

I agree with this. I had a swimming coach that had me lifting extremely heavy at 12 or 13 and my doctor told me that it sadly stunted my growth and may have been the cause of several other physiolocial issues I had as a teen. Where as I should have probably been between 5'6" I'm just under 5'4". My husband is a swimming coach that works with teenagers and he has them do body weight and band work. Whenever they ask about the weight room he tells them to discuss it with their coach when they get to college.

RachelsReboot

He's 13, and you are having him eat clean? *puzzled look* Let him live a little as a young boy?

As far as lifting, he can start now as he's growing. Simple full body routines a few times a week will do the trick.

He is now living as a little boy, he made the decision on his own, he has seen the way I have struggled and he was becoming overweight despite the fact that we don't have those things at home, he made the choice to remove those things from his diet at school and otherwise and is happy with it. I never said I forced anything on him. Trust me he is much happier now to be down those 20lbs and running around playing with the other kids than being made fun of for being fat and the great thing is that HE wanted to do it!

LesliePierceRN

Check this out.

http://skinnybulkup.com/does-weight-lifting-stunt-growth/

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/strength-training/HQ01010

UponThisRock

Weight lifting doesn't stunt growth. Turn on an NFL games, does it look like any of those guys have suffered from lifting during their high school and college years?

If you prefer a more sciencey answer, see here:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17119361

and here: http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Weightlifting/YouthMisconceptions.html

GasMasterFlash

"Make sure you stretch out those creamy hamstrings!"

RachelsReboot

Weight lifting doesn't stunt growth. Turn on an NFL games, does it look like any of those guys have suffered from lifting during their high school and college years?

If you prefer a more sciencey answer, see here:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17119361

and here: http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Weightlifting/YouthMisconceptions.html

Thanks for the links. I looked them over and will use my university library to look at a few more.

edmercdeleted

Hi Rachel.
I'm fairly new to the site, but an old hand at fitness, especially when youth are concerned.

It's a old wives tale (never much cared for that term) that lifting weights will hinder growth. However, all evidence show that this is just not true.

I come from a family of young athletes. I also was a martial arts teacher for many years working with kids mostly. I have a bit of experience with this.

Ask any young football player, wrestler, basketballer, baseballer, etc... if they are lifting weights as part of their training regimen or not. I can tell you this, if they are not, they more than likely do not have a winning program. It's a fact that strength training is irreplaceable in a sports training program. It's been so as long as sports has existed.

Now, knowing this, ask yourself if there is a rash of "stunted" athletes in sports today? I think the answer is clear.

Strength training not only will help with positive muscle growth, but it will also help in overall bone strength as well. The human body is an amazing machine. It automatically calibrates itself to meet the demands of it's environment.

This is the reason that astronauts do strength training while in space for extended periods. It's also why women are encouraged to strength train to fend off the effects of osteoporosis.

What I will strongly recommend is that he not go at it alone, but under the supervision and guidance of an experienced strength coach. Injuries can occur, but they can be easily avoided through proper technique and realistic goal setting.

Good luck to you both,
Ed.

HeidiMightyRawr

I see nothing wrong with it, if he's been monitored by a responsible adult (who knows the exercises well) and he has good form.

I would have him concentrate pretty much on just bodyweight exercises though and lighter weights / higher reps with good form just until he's a little older. It won't do any harm to leave the heavy lifting out until a few years time, and will probably give him a good foundation in lifting so he knows the techniques well by the time he does start going heavier. He should still be able to build some muscle

edmercdeleted

I had a swimming coach that had me lifting extremely heavy at 12 or 13 and my doctor told me that it sadly stunted my growth and may have been the cause of several other physiolocial issues I had as a teen.

I strongly question this doctors method of determining such a thing. Exactly how would he/she have know what your "intended" height was supposed to be? It's not like we come with spec sheets.

There is absolutely no evidence that something like this could ever happen. Sorry, even doctors can and do say dumb things. Especially if they have nothing else to offer as an explanation for a presented problem.

Ed.

misskerouac

He's 13, and you are having him eat clean? *puzzled look* Let him live a little as a young boy?

I don't think there is anything wrong with a 13 year old eating healthy clean foods.
Cutting out junk food and processed crap is not a bad thing for kids these days.
I know ALOT of people whose kids are only allowed processed or junk foods at parties or holidays.
Why does eating junk = living life?

SirZee

Wow, 6ft at 13?

Prime candidate for rapid growth injuries... I coach kids that age (have my own, one each on either side of 13), so that is a big thing to pay attention to, knees especially. However, smart idea to start lifting, it will help strengthen the supporting muscles, I just started mines a couple weeks ago, both play soccer, and it's especially important to protect the knees there. (The advice to start lifting comes from our high school soccer coach, he point blank told us at the incoming year sports meeting that they find that injury rates are significantly lower in kids that age who do weights).

General lifting advice is to lift light, and spend a lot of time on form and proper execution. This will be hard, because kids get conditioned to up those numbers, and will get contorted out of shape trying to lift the weight when its close to their ability threshold. Don't even let them talk about "how many pounds lifted" until about 2-3 months into their weight training. We are in week four, (just last week went into doing two sets), and doing weights where they can do it at least 12 times, and strive for 15. We hit each major muscle group with two or three different activities (2 sets each now).

Most gyms don't let kids work out alone, basically you'll need to supervise. I tried to do my own work out while my kids do theirs, but it doesn't work, you need to spend a lot of time watching and explaining, so now I just set that time aside completely to help them through their workout.

Also, nutrition is critical (I learned the hard way myself, wasted a lot of time while lifting in high school). Protein, protein, protein. You don't need any of the silly supplements (NOX, pre-workout boosters, all that junk), the return on investment is so minimal as to not worth it. The only one worth it is creatine. Do your research well on it, don't fall for the fearmongering (its legal, is not a steroid) your body makes it, supplementation just saturates it, and make your personal decision based on that.

Again, proper form, execution and breathing will be critical to avoid injury. If you don't know it properly, or can't explain it properly, this is probably one of those situations where money on a trainer is money well spent.

Hope this helps.

jsapninz

There are always strength training exercises without weights (like push-ups and pull-ups, etc.) that would help have him get his upper body in shape without going too much into the whole weight lifting scheme at a young age. Make sure he starts off slow and you keep tabs on what he is doing.

If you do let him do traditional weight lifting make sure he is monitored by a professional. People say "oh no heavy weight lifting while you are young won't hurt you!!"...but to me, the benefit would not be worth the risk with my own son.

JLLemons

Don't let your son start lifting at this age. 13 is too young. He can do bodyweight workouts..pushups, situps, etc...adding a lot of muscle mass before your bones etc are done growing is not good for a young man, and being 6ft tall at 13, I'd imagine that he might have one more growth spurt in him as kids are usually not done growing until 16(for the most part).

angieleighbyrd

My son is 13. He's tall like your boy. Wears a size 14 shoe. He's about 175 now. He goes to the gym with me a few days a week. Depending what machine he is doing, he's doing anywhere from 70-110 pounds. Neither one of us know a damn about free weights so he uses the machines that are already set up for you.

He is monitored by a doctor regularly for other things, but they know he works out and what he does, and they said it's fine and even healthy.

Healthy habits should start at a young age. There is a better chance they will follow through to adult hood.