Min. Age for Lifting?

[Fred Da Head]

Hey guys, one of my friends on the football team is 14 but wants to work out. (Lifting, mostly) Should he? Other than sqats and deadlifts, are there exercises he should avoid? He said he doesn't want to go really hardcore, either, just build some more muscle.

Thanks for the help

-Fred

 

[major playa12]

Oh ya man, i started lifting weights when i was 10. and i turned out OK

 

[Fred Da Head]

It's just that he's worried about not growing anymore (he already looks like he's 17+, 5'10, 250 or so, dunno why he'd worry)

 

[Nightwing]

Originally posted by Fred Da Head:
It's just that he's worried about not growing anymore (he already looks like he's 17+, 5'10, 250 or so, dunno why he'd worry)

That's a big mutha fvcka!!!!

 

[dj blass]

I started to lift at 14..ive grown normal..i just dont think is too wise to lift heavy under 14.

 

[Soshyopathe]

You should start lifting as a fetus. As long as you excersize safely, it only benefits.

 

[Eltosian]

Originally posted by Fred Da Head:
Hey guys, one of my friends on the football team is 14 but wants to work out. (Lifting, mostly) Should he? Other than sqats and deadlifts, are there exercises he should avoid? He said he doesn't want to go really hardcore, either, just build some more muscle.

Thanks for the help

-Fred

My advice would be to avoid the squats like you said, but I personally see no reason to drop the deadlift.

What position is he playing, or does he want to play? I wouldn't train an offensive lineman exactly the same way I would train a defensive back.

In general though, the deadlift, bench press, and the power snatch and power clean is what I would stick with. Since he's only 14, make sure he learns proper form. That is the first thing a young person should do when learning exercises. I see so many people lifting with incredibly poor form at school and commercial gyms. I would be more impressed with a focused kid doing a steady, slow deadlift of 400 or 500 pounds than some guy in a tank top three sizes too small jerking a 300+ pound bench press, when in reality his partner is lifting 50+ pounds of the load.

 

[Fred Da Head]

Originally posted by Eltosian:
My advice would be to avoid the squats like you said, but I personally see no reason to drop the deadlift.

What position is he playing, or does he want to play? I wouldn't train an offensive lineman exactly the same way I would train a defensive back.

In general though, the deadlift, bench press, and the power snatch and power clean is what I would stick with. Since he's only 14, make sure he learns proper form. That is the first thing a young person should do when learning exercises. I see so many people lifting with incredibly poor form at school and commercial gyms. I would be more impressed with a focused kid doing a steady, slow deadlift of 400 or 500 pounds than some guy in a tank top three sizes too small jerking a 300+ pound bench press, when in reality his partner is lifting 50+ pounds of the load.

The deadlifts is because I think I read somewhere that younger lifters shouldn't do them, but I'll check to make sure.

We're both on the O-Line, so I know what to train (for us it's mainly legs), and we'll probably train together, so I'll be able to help him with form, along with some experienced lifters I know at the gym.

Thanks for the info

 

[Kwah]

exercise is good. but free weights have been known to cause problems in younger people.

Something to do with your not done growing and it can hurt you.

Occasional stuff doesnt but full fledged weightlifting can hurt you.

I dont remember where I learned that though.

 

[Eltosian]

Fred Da Head, a few more points I forgot to mention.

Soviet research has shown that athletes under 19 benefit more from lifts in the 70-80% 1RM range than in the 80-100% 1RM range! This study also concluded that older, more experienced athlete, made greater gains in the 80-100% 1RM range, so plan accordingly.

Also, as far as exercises go, you don't need the deadlift if you power clean and power snatch enough, IMHO. I believe that the power snatch is the numero-uno exercise for all O-Linemen, D-Linemen and Linebackers.

Check out this article. http://www.drsquat.com/index.cfm?action=viewarticle&articleID=42

 

[Lorenzo]

I started when I was 13, started deadlifting @ 14. I'm 5'10 at 15 y/o, 154 lbs.

As long as you start off with LOTS of reps and go for form, nothing is gonna hurt you. I donno why you'd EVER want to leave out squats, are you nuts? Any kind of whole body power movement [like most movements in football] comes right from the muscles you'd work froms squating.

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[Eltosian]

Originally posted by Lorenzo:

As long as you start off with LOTS of reps and go for form, nothing is gonna hurt you.

Doing lots of reps and going for form do not go hand in hand. Low reps, but frequent practice is best for learning form/technique. Lots of reps is potentially very dangerous as most injuries occur in high-fatigue states. Marathon runners have some of the highest injury rates. Go figure.

Originally posted by Lorenzo:
I donno why you'd EVER want to leave out squats, are you nuts? Any kind of whole body power movement [like most movements in football] comes right from the muscles you'd work froms squating.

Squats are a good exercise, but they are a fairly technical lifts. (I'd say 90% of the squats I've witnessed are atrocious in form.) They also require a spotter and/or a safety rack.

 

[DJ Girevik]

My weightlifting coach's kids have been lifting from age 6 on, and they don't have problems. Weightlifting while still growing helps increase bone mass/density, as far as I know.