What age can u start lifting weights at ?

Question

my son is 11 and he wants to start lifting my weights what age is it reckamended at

Answer 1

You'll get a lot of misinformation on this one.

Many people - and sadly even some of my fellow fitness professionals - believe that any kind of weightlifting is bad for children and should never be done under any circumstances. This is just plain wrong.

Weightlifting, or resistance training is perfectly safe and can be beneficial to growing children, just as with adults. You do need to take care, though, particularly with pre-teens.

Without going into a load of detail to prove I'm right, consider what weightlifting is - resistance training, i.e. applying repetetive force against the muscles. This happens when your child stands up and sits down, lifts his schoolbag, performs a press up, gives his mate a piggy-back, etc. The body does not know whether the resistance is coming from the shopping bag he is so kindly helping you with, or a set of dumbells.

There are some risks and some definite dangers, briefly, theses are:

Make sure the child is well instructed and observed to ensure technique does not cause injury.

Do not allow the child to attempt maximal lifts (i.e. so heavy you can only just lift it once).

Monitor the training programme and other activities to avoid overtraining - remember he's growing, too.

Make sure any equipment used is safe, user friendly and of a suitable size and allows a suitable movement range to accomodate a child.

Avoid any movements which over flex or extend any joint - as childrens' joints are not fully developped until mid teens.

If you are lucky enough to live in a major city and have enough spare cash, some of the big chain gyms are now offering junior gyms, where the equipment is tailor made for kids. Many other places offer junior gym sessions - you will want to check these out for suitability of both equipment and instructors.

Happy training!

Answer 2

There are some age recommendations, and usually restrictions at gyms or clubs, that you could follow. Really any age over 10 can lift weights, but there are two things to be aware of:
1. kids that age don't always have the mental capacity to effectively or safely lift weights, and don't always respect themselves or the equipment.
2. he would need to stay away from heavy weights that stress his growing bones or muscles too much, staying with low weight/low reps.
Other than that, as long as he feels comfortable lifting, go for it!

Answer 3

nice way to spell recommend lol Sorry, had to laugh.

Doing light weights is not a problem but if he starts pushing big weights at an early age when his body is still growing he can damage his muscles and bones.... step up the weights when he gets to 14-15

Answer 4

in most gyms you have to be 16 to start weight lifting.
but my sister was big into rowing when she was about 12, she even rowed for the national team but she hasn't grown since she started the weight lifting

Answer 5

Usually about 16. Until about that age, your bones are very flexible. But i have been using weights since about 13 so as long as he uses them in moderation, he'll be alright

Answer 6

threes a boy in America that started when like 3 or 4 and had an 8 pack! but started to let himself go when he became a teenager. 11 years old does`nt seem too young as long as he takes his time with it. good luck.

Answer 7

He shouldn't until he's about 20. His bones won't have stopped growing and the wieghts will mess 'em up. He could probably do push up but consult a doctor or google first

Answer 8

no don't let him he can get curvature of the spine, get him to go to a youth gym or teen fitness club and they will show him how to lift weights properly and also lift the right weight. Otherwise he could hurt himself if he lifts tooo much

Answer 9

Once he stops growing as it will stunt his growth. Let him run around like a mad thing first!

Answer 10

any age...it doesn't really matter as long as the weights are right for his body weight and structure