What age to start weight training?

[quiverfull]

I have always maintained weight training should not be started until thirteen years of age to avoid problems with muscle development. At our latest track meet Saturday my son that is 12(midget division) tells me all the boys in his class are already working out with the weights.

I even talked to one athlete in the youth division that said he had been lifting weights since he was 9. He told me how his dad was an accomplished weight lifter and his grandfather was an Olympic weightlifter.

I definately feel 9 years of age is too young to start. I am considering letting my 12 year old start.

Up to this point my 15 year old has been weight training for two years. The 12 and 8 year olds are restricted to exercise programs.

Do I need to rethink my stance? Your opinion please. Please mention at what age you started weightlifting.

Ed

[JustFlash]

My opinion, wait until highschool. (14/15)

Sorry I can't really expand as I don't really have the expertise to really say why I think so.

[B Hub]

I think it all depends on how fast your body is developing

For me, I was 6 feet tall in the sixth grade so the coaches decided that they would let me work out in the weight room because I was already so much more developed than everybody else.

I would say that an average kid should start some light weight training in the 7th grade

[laine_christine]

med ball drills are great and won't affect muscle development like weights do.
I'd say med balls up until highschool and continue with them and start weight training as well.

but a lot does depend on the way the athlete's body is developed as B hub said

[quiverfull]

Thanks for the input.

Could you tell me where I might find some good info on medicine ball drills.
I would like to start doing this in our program.

Ed

[NormanTigerTabor]

I stared when I was 12 but I just used dumbells. I stared doing like bench and cleans when I was 13

[israelmachovec]

lifting at a young age is not bad at all, its just the amount of lifting you do. having a kid under the age of 10 max out on squats or bench is just not healthy. experiment with high reps with low weight on some free wieght equipment. have the kid at a young age start push ups, sit ups, dips, pull ups or any other exersices that use mainly your own body weight. these exersices help the child become more functionally strong. if there is anything my father did wrong with me at a young age was the extreme amount of reps we would throw in the 6lb shot and 1kg discus. it also is determined by the kid and the way they grow also. some kids are shaving at the age of 13 where i'm 19 (6'6, 210lbs) and barely have to. hopefully i'll continue to mature in college as i continue to throw.

[Kelly13]

I once read an arguement that weight training prior to puberty was a waste of time because there would be little strength and muscle gains due to the lack of testosterone. The gains in strength would come from neural adaptations to the specific exercise which would have little carry over to on-the-field performance. This coach recommended training skill development in their sport along with introducing a variety of other sports and activities to develop general movement patterns such as running, jumping, throwing.

[quiverfull]

The many and different views are much appreciated.

My sons climb a 30 ft rope 3 times after throwing each day.
The younger two are doing pushups(6 sets of 12 reps) daily.
The older one does benches and curls every other day.

After Nationals we are going to give throwing a break for a while.
How do you train in the off season?

Ed

[Kelly13]

How do you train in the off season?


I would recommend enrolling your kids (esp. the two youngest) into another sport during the off-season and then they can resume throwing in the spring. Twelve and nine are just too young to specialize in a single sport.

Rope climbing is great as well as push-ups and sit-ups. I suggest visiting http://danjohn.org/ for weight training ideas for throwers. Dan John is the former number one in the world in the Highland Games, ages 45-49, broke the American record in the Weight Pentathlon, & holds numerous National Championships in weightlifting and throwing.

[NormanTigerTabor]

yeah its fun when your young and you can do like 5 sports lol thats what I did.

[tabortiger]

i started seriously lifting when I was 14 or 15.............light granny machines at the YMCA before that.

[maxer_09]

I started lifting seriously after football got over my freshman year. I had been lifting before that but i would usually just go about 3 days a week.