Workout advice for my little brother

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aalicia88
aalicia88 Posts: 77 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I have a 13 year old brother who wants to start working out. I think he should lift weights but I don't want him to push himself to hard because he is young. Is weight lifting okay at this age? He already does some cardio but I think if he were to build muscle he would get better results more quickly. Any advice on workouts for someone his age?

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  • HelloDan
    HelloDan Posts: 712 Member
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    Weight lifting is fine at that age, there are a lot of scaremonger myths about it, but no scientific studies backing them up.
    As long as he learns the correct movement patterns and progresses steadily, rather than goes straight in at max attempts, he should be fine. It should also give him a good head start against other kids, if he plays any sports.

    He should also have a plan and stick to it, as one of the common things for younger people training to do is just flit around between exercises, with no plan for what they are going to do, and how much they are going to lift each time.
  • aalicia88
    aalicia88 Posts: 77 Member
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    Thanks! I get worried that he will hurt himself or something.
  • mattywesmitchell
    mattywesmitchell Posts: 24
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    Though there are no direct studies tied to stunting growth, there aren't any that proves it doesn't. I've met plenty of short people who lift very heavy weights and stopped growing before high school. I do recommend lifting weights to give him an advantage to other athletes, but keep him away from the heavy stuff. Less weight, more reps until he grows into himself a little bit. No overhead stuff like military press either. Bench press, squat, curls etc. and not to rain on most weight lifters party, but barbell bench press is just for show. For a better workout, I recommend dumbbell bench press. A better range of motion, and focuses on more muscles.
  • HelloDan
    HelloDan Posts: 712 Member
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    lol, broscience much?

    I've met giants that started weightlifting in their early teens, maybe weighlifting makes people grow taller? Which bit of anecdotal evidence do we go with?

    Of course there are short people who lift weights, in fact in competitive weightlifting being short is an advantage, hence you get lots of short weightlifters, that doesn't mean that weightlifting stunts growth.

    In terms of getting hurt, or course it might happen, but amongst common sports weight training, and weightlifting actually have some of the lowest injury rates. Also if you want to check out things yourself, look for Hamil and\or Stone, both these guys have done a few studies on sports injury rates.

    Sports Injury Rates (Hamill 1994)

    Sport Injuries (per 100 hours)
    Soccer (school age) 6.20
    UK Rugby 1.92
    USA Basketball 0.03
    UK Cross Country 0.37
    Squash 0.10
    US Football 0.10
    Badminton 0.05
    USA Gymnastics 0.044
    USA Powerlifting 0.0027
    USA Volleyball 0.0013
    USA Tennis 0.001
    Weight Training 0.0035
    Weightlifting 0.0017
  • mattywesmitchell
    mattywesmitchell Posts: 24
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    I just figure he better be safe than sorry. There's no need in bulking up at age 13 anyways lol

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