Help - Exercise program for a 13 year old

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by dmaipa

I agree with jwood. also, the main thing this kid needs to do is to get him to be more active. things to consider is his diet, see how much soda/candy/chips, etc. this kid is taking in. I've had clients who would drink a liter or 2 of soda a day!

I agree with compound movements, he can squat with just hit body weight. if he's having a hard time squatting have him do box squats. You can even add in box squat to shoulder press.

Here's a little plan to get ideas flowing. The more muscles you activate the more calories burned. Give him exercises that he will get "the biggest bang for his buck".

Plan: Coach him on the basic exercises:

Squats w. bodyweight: if he cant do full squats, let him work in the range that he is comfortable. He needs to work on his mobility. if he's not going ATG that's ok. Because that will give him a goal to work towards. you can also incorporate box squats, and making him focus on form (hips back, chest up, etc.)

DB Shoulder Press: you can combine the squats and shoulder press together as one exercises.

Push-ups: have him do push-ups on an incline so his feet are on the ground and his hands are on a high surface even if its a counter top. have him to full ROM.

Lunges: he can do lunges, but same with the squats, let him work in his comfortable range of motion.

DB Rows:

basically, work on his mobility. see what he can do, and make him reach for goals. For example, for him doing push-ups on a counter top then moving to push-ups on a bench, then push-up on to the ground is progression. When there is a kid who is obese you don't want him to be discouraged when he perform certain movements the right way, let him work into it through progression.

sorry if this is all over the place, but just got back from a great workout and pretty drained..

Thanks D. Great suggestions. The only exercise he can't do is lunges.

Lunges would be dangerous for him. I know that sounds hard to comprehend, but this is a kid that can't even get into a van.

Originally Posted by Jwood

I think some combination movements would be good:
Curl to Press
Squat to Press
Deadlift to curl

Thanks Jeremy. Great suggestions.

I appreciate everyone's feedback on this.

[Abaddon]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

He won't walk. He's too big. He gets crazy soreness from it.

He needs many things, but being that I'm not his parent, I have to pick and choose my battles.

That's depressingly serious. But there's ways around it. Does he train at a gym with a pool? Hydrotherapy (I think is what it's called) would be good. Anything that cushions the impact while still allowing him to work his body in an aerobic, cardio fashion.

I don't mean in water deeper than he is tall - I'm sure you know that though.

[bigtim27]

Originally Posted by Abaddon

That's depressingly serious. But there's ways around it. Does he train at a gym with a pool? Hydrotherapy (I think is what it's called) would be good. Anything that cushions the impact while still allowing him to work his body in an aerobic, cardio fashion.

I don't mean in water deeper than he is tall - I'm sure you know that though.

Yeah I don't think drowning would be a good thing either

[Abaddon]

Originally Posted by bigtim27

Yeah I don't think drowning would be a good thing either

LOL just making sure!

On a serious note, one of the biggest things this kid is going to have to deal with is persecution paranoia, especially if he's at a gym surrounded by fit people.

For every person who sees him and says 'good on you for making a change' his mind will conjure a 100 more thinking awful, degrading and negative things about him.

It would be good if you can make certain the iron thugs, posers and general assholes are kept away (by perhaps training when the gym is mostly empty... if that's possible).

Or is he in the dungeon Steve? Coz that would be better IMO.

[TBtaylor52]

Honesty I would set something up around a few simple core exercises. I would do box squats to be safe on the first place, not ATG. Lunges if capable. DB presses(Shoulder, chest). And some rows. For his carido I would just start slowly.. Cant do something much more simple than walking. Start him at 5 minutes and SLOWLY work up. This is a jiffy.

[CoopDawg]

I agree with TB dont put him through full atg squats, box squats for some safety, and a few types of presses n rows, some core exercises to stimulate those muscle to kill some calories

[5kgLifter]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

He won't walk. Lifting is the only physical activity he has shown an interest in.

Also, I can't control his eating habits. I try to teach him, but his family lifestyle doesn't cooperate, nor will they bring in healthier foods. I help where I can.

He visits me from time to time and lifts with me. DOMs doesn't bother him. He is good at lifting, and for him, there aren't many physical activities he is good at...

I agree with you guys but the reality is that a better diet and cardio won't happen. You might think I'm talking the easy way out, but he has been in my life for a long time. Lifting is the first glimmer of hope I've had. I want to use it in some way to plant a seed - one he might return to later in life.

I can understand that, there's also probably a certain amount of trepidation about walking; I saw a program about overweight kids, that went to a place specifically designed for them to learn about nutrition and exercise but when they were seen walking in the street all they got was verbal abuse.

That said; is there any way you can incorporate cardio in the form of weights, at least for one session a week...slightly lower weight and more reps, to make it more aerobic based.

[Kyle Aaron]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

He won't walk. Lifting is the only physical activity he has shown an interest in.

Also, I can't control his eating habits. I try to teach him, but his family lifestyle doesn't cooperate, nor will they bring in healthier foods. I help where I can.

To be honest if he will not increase his general physical activity or change his diet, then there is no hope for him.

It comes down to energy in vs energy out. To get bigger, you need to have energy in > energy out; to get smaller, energy in < energy out. A session of weight training might burn 200-300kcal, there are 4,000kcal in a pound of fat, so if he changes nothing he eats or anything else he does, it will take 16 workouts to lose 1lb, we're talking 4-8 weeks. And most likely he or his family would use the workouts as an excuse to eat more.

Whereas if you walk for an hour a day, that's another 200-300kcal out each and every day, and if you eat good food, you might have another 200-300kcal deficit there, too. I mean a Mars bar is 300kcal, large fries from McDs is 500kcal, so eating 200-300kcal less is not a big deal.

So overall about 500kcal a day, 3,500kcal a week, plus 2-4 workouts, well there we go, 1lb of fat lost each week.

Try to think of some strategies to encourage his walking, perhaps "you can work out with me, but only if you walk from home to my place," or something like that.

Strength is built in the gym, size at the dinner table. If he will not change his diet or general physical activity, the kid will be morbidly obese always. All you can do is try to make sure he's at least strong and morbidly obese.

For that, you can't get away from the basic movements, do a deep knee-bend, pick something heavy up off the floor and put something heavy overhead. Two cautions, however.

The first caution is that there is actually a chance that at his weight the kid will have high blood pressure, ensure you get a doctor's clearance before doing anything. Blood pressure spikes when we lift, if it's high already then it can be dangerous. There is also a chance he'll have type II diabetes on the way, this can lead to fainting and so on. So again, a doctor's clearance.

The second caution is that heavy people are going to have a hell of a time when they start squatting. Just think of it this way, at 300lbs the kid is at least 150lbs overweight for his height and age. Imagine a 13yo 150lb kid doing his first squats ever... with 150lbs on his back. Bad idea. So begin with a restricted range of motion, the first weeks will be progressing not in weight but range of motion.

• The first "squats" should just be to sit down on and rise from a chair without using forward torso weight shift and his hands
• once that is done with confidence and 20+ reps, move to a lower chair, aiming for 20+ good reps
• next move to squatting down to a milk crate, again wanting 20+ good reps; at this stage you can introduce him to goblet squats
• next add a dumbbell to his goblet squats
• lastly, take away the milk crate, so he is squatting freely, he'll only fall over once

This process should take 4-12 weeks, you and he both need patience for it. However, because of his obesity good leg and postural muscle strength are vital to his quality of life, that weight will be dragging on him and will hurt his back in time to come.

[Trevor Lane]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

He won't walk. Lifting is the only physical activity he has shown an interest in.

Also, I can't control his eating habits. I try to teach him, but his family lifestyle doesn't cooperate, nor will they bring in healthier foods. I help where I can.

He visits me from time to time and lifts with me. DOMs doesn't bother him. He is good at lifting, and for him, there aren't many physical activities he is good at...

I agree with you guys but the reality is that a better diet and cardio won't happen. You might think I'm talking the easy way out, but he has been in my life for a long time. Lifting is the first glimmer of hope I've had. I want to use it in some way to plant a seed - one he might return to later in life.

Hmm, Kill the parents, raise the boy as your own, and turn him into a killing machine.

Oh, I just typed that didn't I? Sorry, humor is my defense when things get too serious.
I would have him do some dumbbell complexes like Jeremy and others have suggested. This way he gets some cardio and weights without knowing it. Take it easy, some real light half hour sessions 2-3 days a week to start.