Weight lifting not good for teens?
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Anonymous
| DS (15) has started weight training as part of his sports team practices and he does additional work at home. I was telling a friend this and they said that teens who haven’t fully grown shouldn’t be doing lots of weight training until they are done growing, that it messes up the growth plates and stunts growth. Looking online, I don’t see much research to support this but it does seem to be something that people think. Have you heard this/found it to be true/avoided it if you anticipate child still has more to grow? |
Anonymous
| that's 1950s thinking |
Anonymous
|
Proper technique weight training is perfectly fine for children and adolescents. It is important to do it well.
This is an old belief. PhD - exercise physiology, specialty in youth |
Anonymous
| At what age can you begin |
Anonymous
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Weight lifting should not be done before the age of 12 (body weight only) Once kids enter puberty weight lifting is ideal. The muscles they build will have benefits far beyond the teen years. Your friend is incorrect.
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Anonymous
Any age with proper technique and supervision. Keep in mind strength training doesn't just mean lifting weights. Youth athletes, like gymnasts, are doing body weight strength training in early elementary. The boys won't get a lot of hypertrophy (which is what a lot of them are looking for) until puberty and they have more testosterone. But weight lifting for strength and sports performance is absolutely appropriate for middle school and up. |
Anonymous
USA Powerlifting starts with an 8-9 age group for competition https://www.usapowerlifting.com/youth/ There is no reason a healthy, interested, properly supervised child cannot participate in weight training |
Anonymous
I’m not gonna start until 12 . |
Anonymous
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As a former body builder and current powerlifter, I'd be more concerned with peer pressure to go to heavy, poor form,
and most importantly: strength programs written by coaches that don't know anything about strength training. I'm ALL for kids getting in the gym and getting stronger. But be sure someone is there is to advise and that the adult in charge actually knows something about form, progressive overload, and appropriate rep range by age. At 15, your DS can start to go heavier. Ages 12-14, the kids should REALLY focus on proper form with rep range in the 8-12 range. Even for the "big" motions like squatting |
Anonymous
Consider doing a routine with more reps & lighter weights rather than trying to max out weight lifted. Age 13 or 14 is probably the youngest age to start weight training. |
Anonymous
+1 Strength training is great. But there are so many people that did a little strength training 25 years ago and think they know what they're doing I had one of DDs friends telling me her JV field hockey coach had them doing box jumps while holding/standing inside a trap bar. I immediately told the girls parent that they need to request a copy of the workout program |
Anonymous
| My ES kids do body weight exercise's. I'll let them introduce weights in middle school |
Anonymous
| For anyone who is interested, the belief about growth plates apparently arose from a 1920s paper about undernourished child laborers in China. |
Anonymous
The American Academy of Pediatrics says there is no reason younger children can’t do resistance training, Including weight lifting, and that the benefits of resistance training are well established through research. https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/145/6/e20201011/76942/Resistance-Training-for-Children-and-Adolescents?autologincheck=redirected |
Anonymous
| That says resistance training fool |