should my 15 year old son be doing weights?

Question

that is my son in the picture. my husband keeps telling him that he is fat however i dont think he is. he is 5ft 11 and weights 145.
he has now decided to do weights and wants to sign up for a gym. what should i do?
do you think he is fat/ugly?

thanks

Answer 1

I don't mean to be offensive but you husband has no clue what he is talking about. 145 and 5'11" is REALLY skinny - almost unhealthy. He should try to GAIN some weight.

There is nothing wrong with him going to the gym but for teens they should lift for endurance not bulk. If he goes then make sure he gets a trainer for at least a few visits so he knows what he's doing, its worth the $ not to hurt yourself.

Answer 2

You've raised a couple of entirely different issues.

I can't tell from the teeny picture if he's fat or not. If he is, lifting weights won't do much for that. 5'11 145 doesn't sound fat. Out of shape perhaps, but at 15, kids' bodies take wierd turns as they develop. Aerobic exercises like running and cycling are most effective at burning calories and hence excess stored fat if that really is an issue.

On the other hand, at 15, he's at the time of life where his natural growth hormones and testosterone are starting to peak. Lifting weights now will yield tremendous results without artificial help. No, it won't happen overnight, but by the time he's 19 or so he could be a horse.

My son did just that under the supervision of his high school wrestling coach (who was aggressively opposed to drugs and supplements BTW) and is now at 23 a lean, mean 6'3" 240.

But its up to the kid where he wants to go with it.

My opinion, get him involved in some sort of sport at school and let the coaches do their job. Anything to tire him out and keep him out of trouble.

Answer 3

He is not fat I think the father should be more supportive and stop pushing him into a eating dissorder or addictive self improvement behaviol problems.
At 15 the body is still developing and doing wieghts puts the body and joints under stress that can affect the growth and strength of the muscles and joints leading to problems in later life. Weights are especially to be avioded due to the excessive preasures they put on the back and especially the lower spine.
Swimming, football and running are far better forms of losing weight and less violent to a developing body.

Answer 4

he is not fat by anymeans. He can work out if he wants to, but try to tell him that he should lift lightly. Working out heavily could gain too much muscle and restrict him from growing. He will be ok, just have him not go crazy until he is 17-18

Answer 5

yeeup, 5 11 and 145 thats pretty skinny if it's muscle, but if it's all fat, which is impossible he should pump some iron

Answer 6

Your doctor could let you know where he ranks on the range of weight for his height.
I wouldn't think weights would hurt him, but I'd also want to talk to a doctor first to make sure he's healthy enough to do that and has someone trained in how to do it without causing injury to assist him.

Answer 7

he is not by any means fat - he is in the 75th %'tile for his height and weight, my guess is he is in the growing "wide" stage of puberty, he has yet to have another growth spurt and the strength training that he wants to do will only help him in the future and through these awkward stages. as long as he can get proper training from instructors he will benefit for many years from starting early.

Answer 8

5'11'' 145 is awefully skinny.

I ran XC freshman year of high school and was 5'11'' 135. I was malnourished for certain. I ran faster sophomore year at 6'0'' 170lbs.

Run, lift weights, eat right , and be positive.

Juventud Divino Tesoro!

Answer 9

You should be more concerned about getting your husband to stop saying that to him. He's giving him a bad self image. You should be glad he wants to go to the gym to try to rectify this "problem" and hasn't turned to drugs instead.

Answer 10

He's actually underweight by about 10 pounds.