what age for children to start weight training?

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  • Lupercalia
    Lupercalia Posts: 1,857 Member
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    I'm not sure whether it was ok or not, but I was a gymnast as a child and was training in a gym that was turning out olympic gymnasts at the time. This was during the late 70s through the late 80s. They started us lifting weights a couple times a week (mostly upper body from what I can recall) when I was about 9 or 10. Nothing crazy heavy, not olympic barbells. I'm talking dumbbells mostly, and some cable machine type exercises. Strength training stepped up as we got older and stronger, but we did start pretty young back then...and I think it probably did help our gymnastics work. That was also at a time when gymnastics as a sport was going through a big shift--much more power and strength was becoming necessary for women. So that's what we did. I don't know if weight training at a young age stunted my growth--I got too tall and too injured for competitive gymnastics, but I didn't grow as tall as doctors predicted I would as a toddler.

    Gymnastics by itself is an incredible way to build muscle, body awareness, coordination, flexibility....I think it's pretty great if you can somehow do that where you live. Alternatively, perhaps work on basic gymnastics movements at home. Handstands, cartwheels, forward rolls, backward rolls, bridges (back bends), etc.
  • JulesAlloggio
    JulesAlloggio Posts: 480 Member
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    totally agree with this. Children are still developing their bodies. Let them grow and be natural. I would say when Teenage years hit with puberty..then introduce weight training to them.
  • plynn54
    plynn54 Posts: 912 Member
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    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh9950Z5ERg
  • KatrinaWilke
    KatrinaWilke Posts: 372 Member
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    When they are ready and they want to.

    ^This!
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
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    Sure somebody has already said this but talk to your child's doctor.
  • smileitconfusespeople
    smileitconfusespeople Posts: 24
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    At my younger sisters school, they have a gym and year 8 (12-13) the girls are allowed to use weight machines without close supervision and free weights on an almost one to one. Not sure if this helps but that is what a high school thinks
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
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    There are very young lifters out there. 12-year old girls, etc.

    When I was in elementary school PE, they had us do body weight exercises (push-ups, pull-ups, climbing rope, sit-ups/crunches, etc.) Those are perfectly safe for a kid. I would imagine that lighter weights are also okay. I would avoid anything extreme though.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    There are very young lifters out there. 12-year old girls, etc.

    When I was in elementary school PE, they had us do body weight exercises (push-ups, pull-ups, climbing rope, sit-ups/crunches, etc.) Those are perfectly safe for a kid. I would imagine that lighter weights are also okay. I would avoid anything extreme though.

    ^^ This too!

    Always remember that "heavy" is relative. :bigsmile:
  • SlickFootAnna
    SlickFootAnna Posts: 611 Member
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    10 months! Make them start working out for that bottle of milk!
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    I think it is fine to start young, as long as they are not overdoing it. But, I'm really just replying here to read the responses later. If I had weights at home, my kids would start now with my supervision (ages 6 and 8), they are also eager because they know I lift weights. But, I go to the gym and I think they need to be 12 before they could go there (and they seem to have special deals in the summer for the teens). But, now that I think about it, we do have a weight room here at our apartments with light dumbbells, maybe I can take them there sometime to try it out.

    I have read that it is a myth that weights stunts growth.

    My kids also use 2 pound dumbbells for fun to learn exercises with. They also dance and run and do other play activity. I think those are too light, even for them. Five pounds would be fine.

    My six year old gets on my back and I do squats. She often asks me if she can "be my weights".
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
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    6 is too young. There are a lot of other kid friendly sports and activities you can get her involved in. If she still wants to lift when she turns 12ish or so then you can make a decision.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    I think it is fine to start young, as long as they are not overdoing it. But, I'm really just replying here to read the responses later. If I had weights at home, my kids would start now with my supervision (ages 6 and 8), they are also eager because they know I lift weights. But, I go to the gym and I think they need to be 12 before they could go there (and they seem to have special deals in the summer for the teens). But, now that I think about it, we do have a weight room here at our apartments with light dumbbells, maybe I can take them there sometime to try it out.

    I have read that it is a myth that weights stunts growth.

    My kids also use 2 pound dumbbells for fun to learn exercises with. They also dance and run and do other play activity. I think those are too light, even for them. Five pounds would be fine.

    My six year old gets on my back and I do squats. She often asks me if she can "be my weights".

    I completely agree. These days, kids are coddled way too much. Many American kids today could never survive a day on the farm.

    This thread reminds me of one a while back asking if a kid should be allowed to run. Kids should be allowed to do what their little hearts desire, in terms of growth and development. We should teach them how to do, but let them fly and watch them soar beyond what we ever thought they could!
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
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    Growing bones require gentler treatment than those of adults. Just because a child WANTS to do something doesn't mean that he/she should. Ballet schools will not put young girls "on point" because they know it will distort their leg and foot bones. Chinese women suffered a hobbling gait for the rest of their lives from the habit of foot-binding. Jacqueline Kennedy became bow-legged from horseback riding. You can do very real damage to the bones of children by causing them to lift weights that are too heavy for their growing bone structure. Lifting their own body weight is probably harmless but using actual progressively heavier weights is, more than likely, asking for trouble. How many children were injured by lifting heavy weights on the farm? Likely a lot. I have a friend whose dad was "doing a man's work" on his family farm from the time he was ten. He struggled with a lot of musculo-skeletal problems (several dislocations, bursitis, rotator cuff injury, arthritis, ligament strains, tendonitis and torn muscles) for the rest of his life. Was it the work that caused it? He thought so.

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