My son

bodeen · May 16th, 2006, 08:55 PM

I have a thirteen year old son who loves baseball and going with me to the gym. I have no clue as to what I should let him do as far as weight training at this age. Do any of you have any suggestions?

**Hans_Rachid** · May 16th, 2006, 09:01 PM

I'd say mostly machines and high reps, you don't want him to harm his growth.

Did you see Richard Sandrak, "the world's strongest boy", this kid probably fucked himself up for the rest of his life. Of course he started training younger and in extreme fashion but anyway...

**FitnessPhotos** · May 16th, 2006, 09:26 PM

I met the boy at the Arnold a few months back, he looked fine (now).

I would suggest a mixture of weight training anf cardio - time on the treadmill would be good; but also a nice mixture of weights. I would suggest doing some Googling to find specific exercises recommended for baseball depending on his position. You can't go wrong with a foundation of the basics for each body part, though; and like Hans said, don't go for mass - lighter weights, higher reps and get comfortable learning proper form.

Starting out with the correct form will serve him well as he tries out new conditioning routines.

**Insex** · May 17th, 2006, 12:05 AM

I think 13 is a bit early. I didn't start lifting weights until I was 14. I didn't get into serious weightlifting, powerlifting, and Olympic lifting (for football) until I was 15. I'm 23 now, at 6'1". My father is 6'2" and my mother is about 5'5" so I don't think all that heavy lifting hurt me much.

For now, I would recommend just having him start with the basics with his own bodyweight. Some pushups, sit-ups, and maybe some arm curls. Definitely get him to do pull-ups, it never hurts to be good at those. Being able to do pull-ups numerous times with his own bodyweight will definitely help establish a lot of upper body strength for other exercises he'll do when he gets older. Especially for the shoulders (since he will be playing baseball) pull-ups will definitely develop his shoulder muscles. Most people are weak at doing pull-ups (some people call them chin-ups) because they just never do them.

Most importantly, make sure he doesn't lose his flexibility. At that tender age, I had great flexibility. Then I began to lose some of it over the years as I became more muscle-bound each year. I suffered a few injuries over the years as a result of too much lifting and not enough stretching. With good flexibility, comes great strength as well. Because in a sport like baseball, you would want him to have a good range of motion in his shoulders to throw a fastball, rather than having a limited range of motion, right?

Since he plays baseball, another good exercise that I would recommend are rotator cuff exercises. Baseball players in particular end up chewing out their rotator cuffs (the ball-in-socket group of muscles and tendons inside the the shoulder). I would recommend that he start do rotator cuff exercises now, and for the rest of his life.

Dre16nc · May 17th, 2006, 09:08 AM

Dont let him do squats, thats what stunts your growth.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

**Adonis** · May 17th, 2006, 09:13 AM

You will want to avoid some things:
* machines - no point learning a poor movement pattern
* squats witha barbell on the back
* overhead military press with a barbell, and seated OH press' as well
* Plyometric are out of the question
* Low reps, with a heavy weight, don't go near 85% of 1RM

Things you will want o include
* a whole lot of variety
* lots of GPP work, like tire flips, sled drags, lawn mowing, shoveling the driveway
* a mixture of slower and faster tempos
* start in a hypertrophy phase to increase hi tendon and ligament strength
* could go on forever, but do a bit of everything, and if it's really important (rotator cuff work) do it everyday!

**sohail** · May 17th, 2006, 09:50 AM

now why would you want your 13 yr old kid to lift weight anyways. this is the age to eat well, play and grow.he has just started to develop his body, more body changes will come later as he grows older. i wouldnt recommend you to take him to gym and work out with you. allow him to grow naturally and let him figure out the changes in his body. plaaying baseball it self is a great exercise he will develop good shoulders and arms and legs. also how tall is your kid now and his bodyweight..and how tall were you when you were 13. if you want your kid to get fit take him for jogging, cycling, swimming and playing more baseball...i woulndt recommend him taking to gym at this tender age.

**FitnessPhotos** · May 17th, 2006, 10:43 AM

I think the key is moderation; weight training at that age can be a positive thing for althetics, but you have to moderate that with other activities. Weight training can be just one aspect of an overall phyiscal conditioning program.

**ultraman8** · May 17th, 2006, 10:50 AM

i wouldn't recommend starting your kid off at the gym at his age...he has soo many more years left of developing and growing without the need of the gym. playingn sports and eating well is enough for the time being. when he his 15/16, he'll have soo much testo running around in his body, he can hit the gym then.
but i'm glad to hear that your son loves sports, and keeps active and healthy.
too many kids these days are overweight and dont know what exercise is....shame....

**bouncer** · May 17th, 2006, 11:59 AM

I started at 13, but it was with a department store weight set, so I just wasn't able to do much. Those that worked out with me (we eventually combined out weights in my basement) all wound up athletes.

The old mags (Strength and Health, Muscle Builder) said to stay away from the iron until after the age of 12. I say go with caution (see Adonis' post.) Lifting can do alot for his abilities as well as his self esteem. Also, packing around a bit of muscle will earn him respect among his peers, and probably future girlfriends.

Another reason I like training for the younger guys is that with a program that's followed and logged, a young guy can see that work pays off in gains. It has a discipline and character buiding factor.

At this stage:

bench presses
pullups
ab work
leg presses
calf raises
barbell curls

are all good movements that when supervised can get him started. How cool that he wants to hang out with you and do the things you like.

Nathan35 · May 18th, 2006, 04:28 AM

the perfect activity for a teenager to build manly upper muscle without going to the gym, is easily rock climbing..it's also fun..you could try and join him up for the local rock climbing club?..im sure he would enjoy it more then hitting the gym

**Doughboy** · May 18th, 2006, 04:31 PM

Its prob ok, but my preference would be to stay away from weights till he is 15. Try bodyweight stuff now, it helps with strength, balance and coordination. If he does them right, there is less risk of injury. Dont forget cardio, o wait he plays baseball, never mind. I ran all the time back when I was playing.