How soon is too soon?

[soccermom]

My oldest soon sees me lifting weights and wants to try it out as well. He will be 11 in the late summer. Would it harm him if I bought a small set of weights (nothing majorly heavy) for him to use?

[Off Road]

I am currently working out with my son who is also 11 years old. It is my firm belief that everybody (especially younger kids) should master bodyweight movements prior to lifting barbells and dumbbells. They cannot be expected to preform lifts like squats and bench press correctly if they cannot control their bodies yet. Start him off by doing bodyweight squats, push-ups, pull-ups, situps and some basic jumps. Graduate to harder exercises as he is able; If he can do three sets of 20 reps on push-ups, then graduate him to parallel bar dips. When he can do three sets of 20 reps on the parallel bar dips then he's probably ready to take on the bench press. Same thing with bodyweight squats, to goblet squats, to barbell squats. You get the idea, weightlifting should be a lifetime activity so take it slow and build a strong and safe foundation first.

[mikethemighty]

I do not see a problem with this. I commend the kid who wants to better himself. You should be proud that you are raising him to be healthy. As long as you supervise and have him do it the right way, like Off Road suggested, then it will be fine.

[JacktheThriller]

Originally Posted by Off Road

I am currently working out with my son who is also 11 years old. It is my firm belief that everybody (especially younger kids) should master bodyweight movements prior to lifting barbells and dumbbells. They cannot be expected to preform lifts like squats and bench press correctly if they cannot control their bodies yet. Start him off by doing bodyweight squats, push-ups, pull-ups, situps and some basic jumps. Graduate to harder exercises as he is able; If he can do three sets of 20 reps on push-ups, then graduate him to parallel bar dips. When he can do three sets of 20 reps on the parallel bar dips then he's probably ready to take on the bench press. Same thing with bodyweight squats, to goblet squats, to barbell squats. You get the idea, weightlifting should be a lifetime activity so take it slow and build a strong and safe foundation first.

This apply's to all persons young or old. If you cannot master bw movements you simply dont need weights yet. Get him doing pushups, air squats, lunges, pull ups and he will be a tank in high school

[markievicz]

Originally Posted by soccermom

My oldest soon sees me lifting weights and wants to try it out as well. He will be 11 in the late summer. Would it harm him if I bought a small set of weights (nothing majorly heavy) for him to use?

i would listen to OR

i follow his training log and have seen great progress made by his son as they train together. have a look for it , in fact , you might even take some workouts straight from there for your son.

Originally Posted by Off Road

I am currently working out with my son who is also 11 years old. It is my firm belief that everybody (especially younger kids) should master bodyweight movements prior to lifting barbells and dumbbells. They cannot be expected to preform lifts like squats and bench press correctly if they cannot control their bodies yet. Start him off by doing bodyweight squats, push-ups, pull-ups, situps and some basic jumps. Graduate to harder exercises as he is able; If he can do three sets of 20 reps on push-ups, then graduate him to parallel bar dips. When he can do three sets of 20 reps on the parallel bar dips then he's probably ready to take on the bench press. Same thing with bodyweight squats, to goblet squats, to barbell squats. You get the idea, weightlifting should be a lifetime activity so take it slow and build a strong and safe foundation first.

[IronWill]

Agree with OR completely. The better shape his shoulders are in before he starts to lift, the less chance he'll wind up with shoulder issues like a lot of us deal with.

[J_Byrd]

I think the advice so far is solid. Let him develop the bodyweight movements first, I typically don't start to train kids until they are midway through the 8th grade. When I start with them it is much of what OR suggested. You need a basic strength before he needs to handle a weight.

[hardgainerTOM]

Good for your son. It is great that he wants to do this. Build up his shoulder and supervise and he will be fine.

[bruteforce]

I don't know about full powerlifting type training, but my old man started heavy farm work when he was 5. Grew to 6'3", so it didn't seem to stunt his growth much, and built a lot of character to boot. I on the other hand, tinkered with electronics, computers, and mathematics and only moved around during sports, which wasn't exactly healthy. There's probably a good medium in there somewhere, but my opinion is its never too early for push ups, squats, lunges, handstand pushups, etc.

[JacktheThriller]

Originally Posted by bruteforce

I don't know about full powerlifting type training, but my old man started heavy farm work when he was 5. Grew to 6'3", .

Maybe he would have grown to 7 feet without the lifting lol