# Kids and weights.



## min0 lee (Sep 6, 2005)

I have two boys aged 7 and 10 right and they are always flexing with me...
anyway what is the earliest you can have your kids start using weights?
Are they to young for pullups and pushups.


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## Squaggleboggin (Sep 6, 2005)

IMO it's almost never too young for pull ups and push ups. I doubt an argument could be made that those will ruin bone structure, etc. Besides, they have kids doing that stuff in phys ed at a young age anyways. But that's just my opinion.


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## min0 lee (Sep 6, 2005)

When did you start?


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## Squaggleboggin (Sep 6, 2005)

I started with weights when I was thirteen, but I didn't take it seriously and just benched and used a machine. I stopped for a couple years and started again when I was fifteen and have been lifting seriously ever since. Contrary to popular belief, I have not stopped growing, and my bones have not been broken either. Most things you find about kids and lifting should be taken with a grain of salt IMO. Maybe you can simply call a sports medicine doctor and talk to him/her for five minutes and get all of your questions answered the right way. I'm not saying you should ignore what everyone else says, but I would probably try to make the call or set up an appointment. Otherwise, I'm sure you can find a credible online source for such information.


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## CowPimp (Sep 6, 2005)

I don't think you can be too young, really.  Just have them lift light weights and focus heavily on form.  Bodyweight exercises are a great way to get them into the world of exercise.  Hell, I used to do bodyweight stuff when I was 6-7 for soccer practice.


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## Yanick (Sep 6, 2005)

i started when i was 15 or 16, however old you are when your a freshman in high school (seriously, before that i would do biceps and chest up the ying yang) and grew up to be taller than my mom (can't compare myself to my dad, he is an amputee).

i'd say start em off with calisthenics, and just start building a good foundation of a strong work ethic, healthy habits etc. condition them aerobically and anaerobically via joggin and sprints (foot races maybe) respectively. bodyweight anything won't hurt them, since they have to walk around with their BW all the time anyway, BW squats, push ups, pull ups, dips etc.

your biggest challenge would probably be to keep their attention long enough, or to keep em motivated in the long run.


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## MuscleM4n (Sep 6, 2005)

my opinion:

bodyweight exercises till 12.

12-14 lightweights only and to learn proper form.

15+ start heavy.

by 14/15 their bones and tendons should have thickened up appropriatly to start heavy lifting.


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## KEFE (Sep 6, 2005)

i started round 8 but wasnt heavy liufting at 8


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## MuscleM4n (Sep 6, 2005)

your much to young! just don't get injured KEFE


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## min0 lee (Sep 6, 2005)

Squaggleboggin said:
			
		

> Maybe you can simply call a sports medicine doctor and talk to him/her for five minutes and get all of your questions answered the right way.


It's not easy finding a good one with my coverage.


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## LexusGS (Sep 6, 2005)

KEFE, youre gonna hurt yourself if you go heavy. Stay off the bench son.


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## Squaggleboggin (Sep 6, 2005)

min0 lee said:
			
		

> It's not easy finding a good one with my coverage.


 Even at my age, I know what you mean. My family is filled with medical problems, including me and my sister. I felt terrible going to a sports medicine doctor knowing that we don't have the best coverage, but I figured it was better safe than sorry when it comes to injuries.


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## CowPimp (Sep 6, 2005)

min0 lee said:
			
		

> It's not easy finding a good one with my coverage.



Just call around and see if you can get one to talk to you for 3 minutes for free.  If you put a little time into it, then I bet you'll find at least one.  Or at least I would hope so...


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## Squaggleboggin (Sep 6, 2005)

LexusGS said:
			
		

> KEFE, youre gonna hurt yourself if you go heavy. Stay off the bench son.


 Talking to him like this is likely to just encourage him to do the opposite.

 My advice, whether you choose to follow it, is to use proper form all the time no matter what. Oh, and don't listen to the idiots who call you weak or anything else or try to make you max out. That's the best way to get hurt. As long as you use perfect form every time, you'll find it's pretty difficult to get hurt when you're being sensible.


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## ihateschoolmt (Sep 6, 2005)

min0 lee said:
			
		

> When did you start?


 I started doing push ups, pull ups (tried), and sit ups when I was 4 years old. They will be fine.


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## min0 lee (Sep 6, 2005)

ihateschoolmt said:
			
		

> I started doing push ups, pull ups (tried), and sit ups when I was 4 years old. They will be fine.


Wow!


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## KEFE (Sep 6, 2005)

i be careful cuz i dont wanna take any risks


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## MuscleM4n (Sep 6, 2005)

that's a good attitude KEFE


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## soxmuscle (Sep 6, 2005)

Min0,

 I honestly don't think there's anything wrong whatsoever with the information Yanick and some others have given you here.  Stretching, body weight excercises, and cardio should be a mainstay in anyones life whether you be five years old or 75 years old.

 I watched that TLC documentary on "Little Hercules" and his parents had him doing light stretching at a ridiculously young age, and the flexibility of that kid is bar none the best I have ever seen.

 Stretching, cardio, body weight excercises can't possibly hurt in my opinion.


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## KentDog (Sep 6, 2005)

They're starting kids off early in school nowadays.  My little brothers are six and in first grade and they will be doing fitness testing soon (mile, pushups, situps, pullups).  My little bros can't do any pushups yet, but they are good at monkey bars!  I tried to get them into it, but they'd rather be doing running and soccer, playground stuff, etc..  So I say if they're into it, then try to teach them (but I wouldn't recommend weights before 13).  Otherwise, let your kids do what they want.

I personally started weights in 7th grade (apx. 12 years old) but nothing serious.  Just benching really.  Got my first bench at 14.


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## Mudge (Sep 6, 2005)

I started at 11, I started my younger brothers earlier on very light weights. I would put for example 1.25 pounders on a dumbell for their barbell curls, coordination can be an issue depending on the child so keep an eye on that as well.


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## BritChick (Sep 6, 2005)

min0 lee said:
			
		

> I have two boys aged 7 and 10 right and they are always flexing with me...
> anyway what is the earliest you can have your kids start using weights?
> Are they to young for pullups and pushups.



I don't think they are too young now if they are interested and if you are their supervising and teaching them correct form. 
I myself started lifting weights at 13.
I have two kids, my daughter is 8 and is already training with weights and doing a fitness routines so she needs to be able to lift her own body weight in many ways.
I create her mini workouts all the time.  
She loves working out, can't think of a single reason to deter her from it.   
My son just isn't interested yet so I wouldn't push it on him.


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## ATOMSPLTR (Sep 10, 2005)

My son started lifting with me when he was 7.  We concentrated on basic movements....squats with dumbbells, bench press, bicep dumbbell curls, chin ups and situps.  The concern comes in when lifting too heavy a weight.  So, I would not let him do a weight that he couldn't do with perfect form at least 10 times, and he couldn't move up in weight until he could do two sets of 15 with a two minute rest.  It has worked out wonderfully for him.  He is 10 now and he is very strong and agile for his weight.


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## LAM (Sep 10, 2005)

bodyweight only exercises until 7th grade.  once a child is old enough to participate in contact sports for school they are old enough to build up there body to protect it from injury.


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## P-funk (Sep 10, 2005)

In europe children start weightlifting (olympic weightlifting) as young as 8yrs old sometime.  All they are doing is learning the exercises, movement effeciency, etc....you can teach them form with little to no weight and then ofcourse the basic stuff like pushups, pull ups and situps.


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## GreaseMonkey (Sep 11, 2005)

My neighbour's son started when he was 12. Right now he's in the military, and he benches 400.


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## WATTS (Sep 12, 2005)

id start them with weights probably at age 12 or 13....but they are definetly not too young for any bodyweight excercises like pushups and pullups.

you could show them things like close/wider grip pushups. and same for pullups. 

i personally started doing weight training at 13 yrs old.


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## LAM (Sep 12, 2005)

WATTS said:
			
		

> i personally started doing weight training at 13 yrs old.



ditto...that's when I joined my first gym


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## Jordan213 (Sep 13, 2005)

aight, this is good to hear, i was getting worried that i was too young to be working out and that it would fuck up my body, but i guess its all good to keep going


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## The Monkey Man (Sep 13, 2005)

Puberty is the starting gun for serious weight training IMO


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## growinbigger (Sep 13, 2005)

I started when I was around 7-8 years old.  I mostly did bodyweight exercises, but I did have a small dumbell that my father had me use for curls and an exercise similar to the military press.  I didn't get a lot more serious about exercise until I was about 14 and started lifting in the weight room at high school.

Now that story that was on TV a while ago about that strongest kid in America was unbelieveable.  That IMO, was way too much.


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## KEFE (Jan 7, 2006)

Make em go to a school that is 10 miles away from ur house and put 25lb plates in thier bak pack and makem walk to school


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## min0 lee (Jan 7, 2006)

KEFE said:
			
		

> Make em go to a school that is 10 miles away from ur house and put 25lb plates in thier bak pack and makem walk to school


Does your father make you do that? It sounds like a good advice, I also plan on feeding the youngest one some gun powder to make him tougher.




just kidding.


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## JordanMang (Jan 7, 2006)

I started weight training at 12? And I mean like heavy for my size etc.


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## min0 lee (Sep 25, 2010)

Well...after all these years they finally found interest in training.
Right now I have them doing pull ups, push ups, cardio machines and machine weights for now. I tried free weights but they were a little out of whack.


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## dave 236 (Sep 25, 2010)

min0 lee said:


> Well...after all these years they finally found interest in training.
> Right now I have them doing pull ups, push ups, cardio machines and machine weights for now. I tried free weights but they were a little out of whack.


They'll be fine with that.It's never too early to think about fitness, they'll thank you for it later.Like Cowpimp said earlier focus on form not weight or number of reps. Just think how happy they're gonna be kicking ass in high school.


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## min0 lee (Sep 25, 2010)

Definitly, I am on top of them making sure they use proper form and not to goofing around when using weights.....and most important of all....no curling in the squat rack.


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## dave 236 (Sep 25, 2010)

min0 lee said:


> Definitly, I am on top of them making sure they use proper form and not to goofing around when using weights.....and most important of all....no curling in the squat rack.


A-Fuckin-Men.


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## readyformore (Sep 25, 2010)

If your concern is them having too much stress on their joints.. shoot think about how much stress it puts on them when they simply jump compared to lifting weights. Only thing that matters is making sure they are doing it with proper form.


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## Nightowl (Sep 25, 2010)

Great topic, as I was wondering the other boards, I then find your's.  My 4 year old wishes to lift weights, and it is the cutest thing for her, as she has 2 lb pink dumbbells; I am not too sure just the reality of her request truly is. As she sees me doing my free weights, for the last few months,  I have said no, not this time, but soon.

So, most of what I am reading here is with negatives, for such an age.  Might you be able to tell me of what type of competition workout most of the teens and smaller children are then pointed with in scale of scores, in well, the likes of Natural Bodybuilding competitions? I read 6-8 year olds, so what do they do to then make this a bit different or in the realm of body building for competition?


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## cyan (Sep 27, 2010)

it is hard for me.


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## ScorpionKing (Sep 27, 2010)

I started my kids off young. My baby girl loves to go to the gym. By taking her there when she was 5 she is now excited about gym time and looks toward to it. My boy on the other hand did not start till he was 11 and dreads going to the gym. He is use to laying around the house and watching tv and playing with his play station. He's slowly comming around to the fact that he's getting fat and out of shape. I made a deal with him that for every pound he loses i'll pay him 20.00 a pound. It worked.


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## Nightowl (Sep 27, 2010)

ScorpionKing said:


> I started my kids off young. My baby girl loves to go to the gym. By taking her there when she was 5 she is now excited about gym time and looks toward to it. My boy on the other hand did not start till he was 11 and dreads going to the gym. He is use to laying around the house and watching tv and playing with his play station. He's slowly comming around to the fact that he's getting fat and out of shape. I made a deal with him that for every pound he loses i'll pay him 20.00 a pound. It worked.


 

Good thing that you grabbed him now, Puberty is due around the corner and that can lead to more of a emotional rollercoaster.  Good Luck!

Your daughter sounds like a dream, as well mine with her interest.  Of, course...Ms. Eason is there for me to show her and express the necessary needs of thin and appearance.  She at times exclaims "I love my Body"  and I want this body...Too cute!


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## barnard (Oct 8, 2010)

Hi Kentdog
Any advice on a Mon Wed Fri routine for my 14 year old son who has joined a power lifting club for  twice a month training initially and  today and a fitness gym for during the week.
He is 6' 280lb/128 kgs/20st etc 46" chest size 11 feet and strong as an ox so I am more interested in him doing an overall body workout split over the week and how would he work out what he should be lifting on each exercise


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## Kirk B (Oct 8, 2010)

wow you picked this up from 4 years ago good to see your still here and motivated


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## MMAWannabe (Oct 9, 2010)

MuscleM4n said:


> my opinion:
> 
> bodyweight exercises till 12.
> 
> ...



I agree 100%


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## gtbmed (Oct 9, 2010)

You don't need 14 years of a kid's life to get him lifting with proper form.

Kids in China, Russia, and Eastern Europe are taken at a very young age to become competitive weightlifters and by the time they're 14, they're stronger than a lot of grown men.  There are 14 year old powerlifters squatting 350+ in the U.S.

As long as they're being supervised I don't see any problem with having them lift real weights.


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## min0 lee (Oct 9, 2010)

Kirk B said:


> wow you picked this up from 4 years ago good to see your still here and motivated



Thanks.


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## returnofthdragon (Oct 9, 2010)

gtbmed said:


> You don't need 14 years of a kid's life to get him lifting with proper form.
> 
> Kids in China, Russia, and Eastern Europe are taken at a very young age to become competitive weightlifters and by the time they're 14, they're stronger than a lot of grown men.  There are 14 year old powerlifters squatting 350+ in the U.S.
> 
> As long as they're being supervised I don't see any problem with having them lift real weights.




You don't wait that long to develop form. You are waiting for their body to mature. Before that happens there's still a lot you can do with resistance training that isn't powerlifting. Here's the NSCA position statement on youth resistance training Link. It has a lot of great info.


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## gtbmed (Oct 9, 2010)

returnofthdragon said:


> You don't wait that long to develop form. You are waiting for their body to mature. Before that happens there's still a lot you can do with resistance training that isn't powerlifting. Here's the NSCA position statement on youth resistance training Link. It has a lot of great info.



Why do you have to wait for their body to mature before they "start heavy"?  Why can't the weight they lift be programmed relative to their level of strength.

It's not like you're going to ask a 13 year old to do a 300lb. squat if he can't do it.  I just fail to see why lifting with 85-90% of a 1RM would be a bad thing for a child who had proper exercise technique.  Kids in other countries do this stuff all the time.


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## Kirk B (Oct 10, 2010)

min0 lee said:


> Thanks.



no problem


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## returnofthdragon (Oct 10, 2010)

gtbmed said:


> Why do you have to wait for their body to mature before they "start heavy"?  Why can't the weight they lift be programmed relative to their level of strength.
> 
> It's not like you're going to ask a 13 year old to do a 300lb. squat if he can't do it.  I just fail to see why lifting with 85-90% of a 1RM would be a bad thing for a child who had proper exercise technique.  Kids in other countries do this stuff all the time.



I'm not going to read my link for you, but here's part of it. I'm not opposed to resistance training, but imho I would want to wait until they are more developed. Ligaments and tendons can strengthen through progressive overload, but you can't force the skeleton or attachments. I don't believe it's worth the risk to add a lot of weight until their sex hormones are flowing and joints are developed more. For this I prefer to error on the side of caution. 

"A traditional area of concern related to youth resistance
training is the potential for training-induced damage to the
growth cartilage, which is found at 3 main sites in a growing
child???s body: the growth plates near the ends of the long
bones, the cartilage lining the joint surfaces (articular
cartilage), and the points at which the major tendons attach
to the bones (apophysis) (161). Because growth cartilage is
??????pre-bone,?????? it is weaker than adjacent connective tissue and
therefore more easily damaged by repetitive microtrauma
(161). In some cases, damage to this area of the bone could
result in time lost from training, significant discomfort, and
growth disturbances (41). A few retrospective case reports
published in the 1970s and 1980s noted injury to the growth
cartilage during preadolescence (108) and adolescence
(25,31,108,128,194,197). However, most of these injuries
were due to improper lifting techniques, *maximal lifts*, or lack
of qualified adult supervision."​


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## blazeftp (Oct 11, 2010)

Well i got a little bro at age 6
Doctors said his muscles where underdeveloped.
I suggested him Doing a weights session with myself he said it was fine as long it was in moderation.
So I just gave him a little routine which he enjoys.

He uses 2kg dumbbells and 4kg barbell.

As long is their form is 100% then i would say its fine.


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## gtbmed (Oct 11, 2010)

returnofthdragon said:


> I'm not going to read my link for you, but here's part of it. I'm not opposed to resistance training, but imho I would want to wait until they are more developed. Ligaments and tendons can strengthen through progressive overload, but you can't force the skeleton or attachments. I don't believe it's worth the risk to add a lot of weight until their sex hormones are flowing and joints are developed more. For this I prefer to error on the side of caution.
> 
> "A traditional area of concern related to youth resistance
> training is the potential for training-induced damage to the
> ...



I think you highlighted the wrong cause out of the 3.  Most of the maximal lifts that caused injury were likely done with improper lifting technique and/or a lack of supervision.

Kids run around and jump all the time.  They pick up heavy objects and carry them.  Those activities can actually be more strenuous and dangerous than a maximal effort lift in the gym.  If you get them in the gym and control everything, I don't see how a maximal effort lift could cause harm.

Like I said, there are 14 year old powerlifters in the U.S. squatting 350+.  There are kids in Russia and China who have been training the Olympic lifts since they were 6 years old.

If you're willing to put your kids in a competitive sport, I don't see why they can't lift real weights.


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## jstnelson2006 (Oct 12, 2010)

congrats on worrying about your children's health rather than overfeeding them junk food and soda and letting them weigh 220 when they're 10. Power to ya


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## returnofthdragon (Oct 12, 2010)

gtbmed said:


> I think you highlighted the wrong cause out of the 3.  Most of the maximal lifts that caused injury were likely done with improper lifting technique and/or a lack of supervision.
> 
> Kids run around and jump all the time.  They pick up heavy objects and carry them.  Those activities can actually be more strenuous and dangerous than a maximal effort lift in the gym.  If you get them in the gym and control everything, I don't see how a maximal effort lift could cause harm.
> 
> ...




Did you even read the parts above or just the bold? The rest of the statement explains why there can be a problem even with great technique and good supervision. Then around the age of 14 (depending on individual development progress) you start. But hey, you just do what you believe. I mean if russia and china are doing it must be right. To hell with the NSCA and the M.S.'s, Phd's and professionals in the business right! Education and science be damed, do what you saw on youtube!


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## gtbmed (Oct 12, 2010)

returnofthdragon said:


> Did you even read the parts above or just the bold? The rest of the statement explains why there can be a problem even with great technique and good supervision. Then around the age of 14 (depending on individual development progress) you start. But hey, you just do what you believe. I mean if russia and china are doing it must be right. To hell with the NSCA and the M.S.'s, Phd's and professionals in the business right! Education and science be damed, do what you saw on youtube!



Yes, I read it.  The parts that you claim "explain" why children should not lift heavy weights cite a review, not a specific study.  I can't read that review anywhere so I can't comment any further on it.

What I will say is that I think it is ridiculous to think that lifting heavy is dangerous for children but playing sports is not.  A 120lb. kid is going to have to generate 120+lbs. of force in order to do a 2 foot vertical jump.  He's going to experience tons of impulse upon impact with the ground.  Why are these not considered dangerous?

And yes, to hell with the NSCA.  I am a huge proponent of science, but you have to be careful to evaluate the methodology and use anecdotal evidence as well.

There was an NSCA study published stating that a one rep max bench press on a flat bench is no different from one performed on a swiss ball.  Or one about periodizing abdominal training.

Fact is, there are plenty of kids out there training heavy in a controlled environment and they seem to be fine.

Also, just curious, but what about a 14 year old makes him mature enough in terms of bone ossification to allow him to lift decent weights?  You understand that bone ossification in males doesn't stop until about age 25, right?  A 14 year old is hardly what I would consider to be mature in terms of bone development.  So if you really are worried about this, perhaps a different cutoff age would be appropriate.


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## cyan (Oct 13, 2010)

that's a good attitude KEFE


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## assassin (Oct 15, 2010)

Bw exercises


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## Calves of Steel (Aug 2, 2011)

I started with curls and shrugs at 12(don't ask me why I wanted traps so bad lol) and then moved to heavy and serious lifting at 14. I don't regret it, I feel like it was a good age. But don't get too ambitious with the weights. i'd say if you start in your early teens don't try anything heavy enough that you can't get 5 reps until you've had your growth spurt AND have been doing the light/moderate stuff for at least 2 years. None of the guys that I remember being serious about heavy lifting in early high school are still hittin it hard. Except me haha.


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## Grizzly Adams (Aug 2, 2011)

I remember reading an article some doctor wrote on this topic. He said body weight only until 13, then start with light weights and progress from there. He gave a bunch of medical reasons for his logic but I dont remember any of it...


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## K.Dallas (Aug 2, 2011)

BW resistance, but wouldnt touch heavy weight, always heard it stunted growth, maybe I am wrong though, who knows somebody prove it


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## squigader (Aug 2, 2011)

MuscleM4n said:


> my opinion:
> 
> bodyweight exercises till 12.
> 
> ...



Exactly this! Calisthenics and bodyweight until 13-4 or so. Make sure they're running around too, have some endurance and are involved in sports. Once the testosterone starts going at around 15 or so, freshman year of high school, it's time to start serious training.
But as always, make sure their grades come first! Anything lower than a C in school = no lifting. Best thing any parent can do. I found that sometimes I prioritized my workouts over schoolwork (and you definitely do at that age), but I had enough of a cushion to still graduate top 10%.


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