weights at 15

[babooon87]

I've heard recently that weight training can affect growth if you lift when your young, I'm 15 and I do weight from time to time, I'm gonna stop now until I'm older but for the bit of lifting I have done am I gonna stop growing or something, am I doomed?

[rubthebuddha]

if you do them, do them sporadically and in light weights to develop muscle, but not to overdevelop it. use them in conjunction with general sports and other activities.

wait until your ironfist's age before you try to get hyoooge.

[IronFist]

You're fine. Don't overdo it. I'd say stick with bodyweight stuff until you're done growing, around 18 or so. If nothing else, it will develop a good base for you to work off of when you start lifting weights.

If you were so inclined, you could use this time in the meantime to study up and learn all about weightlifting, so that when you begin you know what you're doing. You'll probably also have time to weed out all the bad info between now and then, too.

Good luck.

IronFist

[harry_the_monk]

You have to make your own mind up.

I started weight training from when I was 12. It is as Ironfist says best to stick to bodyweight stuff, although this also means that you should be able to lift a weight that is up to or equal to your bodyweight with no problems.
i.e. if you are 65kg don't try pressing more than 65kg. The other thing is that as you grow in strength, so you grow in size and weight, so if you bring your weight up to 70kg by weight training, then you can lift 70 kg...and so on.

The main fear is that you will hamper bone development, as they are not properly formed yet. The other side of the coin is that they may not form fully until you are around 25. This doesn't stop people training before that age. Some people take the chance on lifting heavier when they are young(I did, and I am only 5'8") . I know of others who have done it and been HUGE. ( Arnie started pumping iron in his early teens also and was well over 6')

There are many books on the subject, do look into serious ones as well as the commercial types. Even though the science books may be boring, they have the most accurate information. So do as Ironfist says and read up on it while you train.

[babooon87]

I did alot of bodyweight training for the past years, but you you said yourself ironfist that at a certain point bodyweight will only give you endurence and that you have to lift more weight and lower reps in order to gain strenght.

Another question: does dynamic tension have the same problem than weights or can I do it at my age!

I dont want to take the risk of stopping my growth cuz i'm only 5'6.

[Cheese Dog]

Baboon87:

No, dynamic tension shouldn't stop your growth in any way. If you're worried that weight training will stunt your growth, bodyweight exercises and tension sets are the way to go.
IMO, weight training shouldn't affect your height unless you lift so heavy that you damage the growth plates at the end of the bones. So if you do lift just use lighter weights, and stay away from the 1-6 rep range. Do all of your lifts in at least the 8-10 rep range.

[IronFist]

Originally posted by babooon87
I did alot of bodyweight training for the past years, but you you said yourself ironfist that at a certain point bodyweight will only give you endurence and that you have to lift more weight and lower reps in order to gain strenght.

That's true, once you get past a certain point.

But there are things you can do to make it harder. Diamond pushups instead of regular pushups. One arm pushups. One legged squats. One armed pullups, etc.

A word of advice tho, if you start doing a bunch of one arm pushups and stuff, don't neglect your pecs. In other words, still do some wider hand placement pushups every once in a while because otherwise your pecs will get detrained (at least this was the case with me).

As for pushups... I think a normal pushup is something like 65% of your bodyweight. So just cuz you can do a pushup doesn't mean you can bench your bodyweight. Keep that in mind when you start benching.

Good luck.

IronFist

[babooon87]

Thank you guys, I'll take your advices.

[rubthebuddha]

to make pushups more difficult, you can either elevate your feet, or you can hook one leg over the other, so one ankle is on top of the other and the bottom foot is the one weight is on. this transfers weight to your hands, which is right where you want it.

this still not enough? then lift that raised leg up and point the heel back, maybe a foot off the ground. this further shifts the weight forward.

[IronFist]

Just so you know, babooon87, the higher off the ground you put your feet when doing pushups, the more it works your front deltoid (shoulder) and the less it works your pecs.

So if all you do is elevated feet pushups because they're "harder," you're probably going to lose a bit of pec development.

But if elevated feet pushups are easy, try handstand pushups against a wall. This will be almost all front deltoid and tricep and almost no chest, but it's definately a good work out. Give it a try.

IronFist

[babooon87]

thanks

[ricksitterly]

JEEZ. all this crap about pecs. allz anyone cares about is how big their man-b0obs are.

[rubthebuddha]

rick,

the greater point was about variety, and since pushups are probably the most common body weight exercise next to crunches/situps, they're an easy example.

the benefits of variety far exceed general strength gains, such as balance, core strength, flexibility, and most importantly for many people, variety keeps up the interest.

not to mention that pushups aren't just about the chest, as ironfist already mentioned. it's just a basic motion that has a lot of uses.

[Viper555]

I'm 14 and have been lifting weights for about a year now and have been growing the whole time. Id on't really see a problem with it personally. All the guys that do weightlifting at my highschool are pretty big too so I don't really think it could make you stop growing.But what do I know, you'd be better off to listen to the other guys on here than me.

[guohuen]

I don't buy into that weight training is not good for kids mentality at all. The major rule for any age as far as I'm concerned is don't damage your spine. Learning proper technique and being aware can easily prevent that.

[CD Lee]

All I will add to this matter is that I have read many times that weight training is ok for younger guys, as long as the intensity is not real high. Now, what does that mean? I used to do very heavy work when 15-18 and I am only 5'9, the shortest member of my family. I could bench press 275lbs. free weight at 148 lbs in high school. I think that was too much frankly. The weight felt like a 1000 lbs, and is not good for the joints and ligaments. I think a medium intensity workout is fine for building strength at a younger age. Just keep the weights light and don't worry about the multitude of corrections you will get in the gym from guy doing intense workouts.

I have done the manly thing before. I have absolutely NO qualms about walking into my gym nowadays and benchpressing with just the bar and NO weights (45lbs)while all the muscle guys stare in dis-belief. I don't give a crap anymore. I work out the way I need to, to meet whatever needs I have.

Enjoy the workouts.

BTW, pushups are so excellent an excercise. After all these years, I love them more than any other excercise. Combined with crunches, and bodyweight squatting, I stimulate quite a lot of my body muscle groups this way while travelling.