REGISTER AN ACCOUNT
Who's Online - 2 members and 135 guests

How young is too young ?

Users viewing topic: & 1 Guest

1234

MarkCleggIconHow young is too young ?15-11-2012 @ 10:32 
Avatar
knock knock !! who's there ?? OLD SCHOOL SUGDEN
Member 212, 11439 posts
SQ 325, BP 212.5, DL 370
907.5 kgs @ 100kgs UnEq
A children in sport discussion. I know we all enjoy s**t talk upon this forum BUT many of us have children and i`ll assume most of us will encourage our little precious loved ones into sport and some point .. Some of us may get them into lifting of some description at some stage BUT what age is the right age ?

This is one of the most impressive lifting videos i can find of weightlifting.. 4 year old boy doing a perfect snatch with 4kg ..



Technically awesome and obviously well practised, rehersed and with a weight i feel is acceptable .. The example i used to use while coaching youngsters in schools was that parents will gladly let their youngsters bring in shopping bags from the car. Shopping bag 4kg maybe ? So to let kids lift a 4kg barbell with well tought technique is in my opinion not too much of a danger ...

Before i go any further i just want people to be very careful when commenting on these young people because they are innocent in this and their parents are full of great intentions so please keep it respectful. BUT for me the following clip is NOT for me .. Having a 9 year old girl going to failure with a 90kg Deadlift with what appears to be a poor lumbar posture "ITS JUST NOT FOR ME" ..



The next one i`ll be honest, I`m not sure .. Here we have a 8 year old Chinese boy clean and jerking 75kg at 40kg with what appears to be perfect technique BUT at what cost ? He could be the next Olympic Champion or on the scrap heap like so many others ..



Alexey Kosov snatching 172kg at 87kg bodyweight at 17 years old .. He must of been young when he started lifting ... BUT how young.

PeteHodgsonIcon...15-11-2012 @ 10:42 
Avatar
Has little understanding of the sugden
Member 677, 11338 posts
SQ 165, BP 125, DL 220
510.0 kgs @ 80kgs UnEq
I think to be the best ie olympic champion you probably need to start really young, as with gymnastics. But is that the best for the individual in later life? Everyone ends up with some wear and tear after years of lifting. My lower back would probably be fine if I hadn't injured it whilst deadlifting. I've been training 20 years. With another possible 10+ years of training would I be more worn out/injury prone? Maybe. Obviously there are many benefits to it too, which at my level outweigh the negatives, but being pushed into sport really early at a competitive level in my mind is a bit wrong. Fair enough if the child takes an interest in a sport and wants to do it for fun, but that probably isn't the same child that will eventually win medals.
JCIcon...15-11-2012 @ 10:43 
Avatar
technical retard
Member 172, 36827 posts
SQ 310, BP 205, DL 335
850.0 kgs @ 108kgs UnEq
Interesting discussion

I'm (obvioulsy) a huge fan of WL, strongman, PL and associated sports

I wouldnt want to see my lads lifting weights before high school age TBH (before then, if they have spare time, for me, they should be out on their bikes, climbing trees and other fun s**t)
AndyCoupeIcon...15-11-2012 @ 10:46 
Avatar
His levers get the bar up.
Member 2919, 8635 posts
SQ 195, BP 127.5, DL 225
547.5 kgs @ 77kgs UnEq
JC said:Interesting discussion

I'm (obvioulsy) a huge fan of WL, strongman, PL and associated sports

I wouldnt want to see my lads lifting weights before high school age TBH (before then, if they have spare time, for me, they should be out on their bikes, climbing trees and other fun s**t)


X 2
adillon10Icon...15-11-2012 @ 10:51 
Member 3863, 1275 posts
SQ 155, BP 110, DL 182
447.0 kgs @ 75kgs UnEq
This is a great thread. I help out the Strength and Conditioning team at Warrington Wolves for their scholarship, so ages 15-16 and often parents there are surprised to see weights being lifted and are not so sure of it. There has been no published journals on stunted growth as a result of weightlifting and it is encouraged that in a controlled environment the athletes should lift weights.

I agree with the girl deadlifting, looks painful to watch but I guess she is still young and has time to grow. Kids are nuts and damage themselves as it is.
ThingIcon...15-11-2012 @ 10:51 
Avatar
a large fingered spastic that demolishes plant
Member 89, 31706 posts
SQ 260, BP 220, DL 290
770.0 kgs @ 142kgs UnEq
JC said:Interesting discussion

I'm (obvioulsy) a huge fan of WL, strongman, PL and associated sports

I wouldnt want to see my lads lifting weights before high school age TBH (before then, if they have spare time, for me, they should be out on their bikes, climbing trees and other fun s**t)


i couldn't agree more with James, kinds need to have fun all that with mucking around out side, playing around.
shanejerIcon...15-11-2012 @ 10:56 
Member 1307, 14110 posts
SQ 355, BP 240, DL 370
965.0 kgs @ 102kgs UnEq
My parents pushed me into martial arts and now i am older i am glad they did, wished it was WL lol.

If i have kids i will get them into WL.
martinbIcon...15-11-2012 @ 10:59 
Avatar
Grass fed
Member 1147, 7710 posts
SQ 220, BP 185, DL 272.5
677.5 kgs @ 113kgs UnEq
Lets face it, if you want your kid to be an elite athlete, they have to start YOUNG, and they have to do it A LOT

Michael Jordon, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, they probably didn't have the funnest childhoods, but now they sleep on a pile money in mansions made of gold, so do you think they mind?

But you have to temper that with the thousands of other kids who's parents probably did the same things with them, but it broke them, or alienated them, or generally just f**ked them up who ended up on the scrap heap
DomRedshawIcon...15-11-2012 @ 11:06 
Avatar
Uk limbo dancing champion
Member 2666, 6551 posts
SQ 202, BP 170, DL 255
627.0 kgs @ 88kgs UnEq
i think lifting from a young age is harmless if done correctly. like you say is there much differance from lifting a 4kg bar to carrying the shopping, and how many parents ask their kids to pick something up n pass them it or whatever without emphasis on good lifting positions.

my eldest daughter is 2, almost 3 years old. she often picks up n moves things like juice bottles (1litre =1kg) or pushes chairs, carrying piles of books from her bedroom to downstairs etc. whether its on a barbell or not kids lift weights. i also taught her bench press and squats on an old pull up bar i have that weighs next to f**k all and i dont see any harm in that, she also used to try pick up the fixed blue dumbells (10lbs) but cudnt then i showed her to do it like a deadlift n she repped it, if i hadnt she wud of probably injured herself trying to move it anyway, i never told her to pick it up or even go near them.

i read a few articles that relate to this, firstly the big 3 (or 4 if u count standing press) lifts are natural movements, a squat is how we sit and stand, a deadlift is how we pick things up and a press is pushing something away from us that cud be potentially dangerous and is built into us as a survival instinct. secondly (this was in phil learney article, someone who i respect as a reliable source) when we jump or run etc we stress the joints and if i remember correctly a jump puts the equivalent stress of 3 times our own weight on the joints that take the impact. so to damage our joints more than an impact sport would, we would need to be squatting 3 times our own bodyweight at least.

basically most sports or even just jumping is worse for our body than lifting weights (provided we do so with good form and a sensible load). the people who say it will effect growth or negatively impact the body are people have no proof, like the poeple who say protein shakes can cause 'rage' yet most protein shakes contain less protein than a portion of meat but nobody claims eating meat causes these 'rages'
DomRedshawIcon...15-11-2012 @ 11:11 
Avatar
Uk limbo dancing champion
Member 2666, 6551 posts
SQ 202, BP 170, DL 255
627.0 kgs @ 88kgs UnEq
i agree that having fun shud be kids main priority. i was posting my thoughts on if its safe or not.
PAGANIcon...15-11-2012 @ 11:11 
Avatar
I took about £4 out of Sooty's bottom
Member 685, 8719 posts
SQ 225, BP 150, DL 290
665.0 kgs @ 93kgs UnEq
I didn't let Jnr start lifting till he was 14 at which point I let Tony loose on him and he started doing max deads and heavy overhead work. He seems ok if a bit more of a c**t than he probably would have been Grin


My daughter used to gymnastics from around 8yrs old. She would do 4 2-3 hr sessions a week. She was incredibly fit and had a six pack but I thought it was all too much at that age but she enjoyed it and it's a fairly common pursuit for young girls so I didn't get involved. She quit when she was 11 but with some older girls the intense training would apparently delay puberty and cause menstrual irregularities which doesn't sound like it can be doing the body much good. I believe this is common with a lot of female athletes in certain sports.
GingyIcon...15-11-2012 @ 11:20 
concept 2 guru
Member 1235, 4675 posts
SQ 190, BP 137.5, DL 220
547.5 kgs @ 85kgs UnEq
If you want a freaishly strong eleven year old then that's easy, just make them lift from when they're four.

I suppose the thing that's most important to create olympic champions in anything is to get the to ENJOY it from a very young age. Intrinsic motivation is so much more effective than being pushed into it.

If when I'm older I have a garage gym and little gingy junior wants to come and play lifting then I'm not going to say no. Just would try to instill the fun of doing the movements properly rather than trying to desperately chuck more weight on.

To be totally honest, the only benefit to starting before high school age is if you're trying to be olympic champion. Whether this is an enjoyable thing to do with your life I'm still not sure...
MarkIcon...15-11-2012 @ 12:11 
Member.
Member 2171, 1612 posts
My boy loves his trampolining, he has proper lessons n will be doing comps soon.
However, he also likes lifting things up. I don't need to encourage this, he wants to do it all the time.
He pops into our unit after I pick him up some times and the other day he was flipping doubled up large wheels.

I agree that maximal weights would be crazy for younger children, however you can't stop them doing things like this:

shanejerIcon...15-11-2012 @ 12:13 
Member 1307, 14110 posts
SQ 355, BP 240, DL 370
965.0 kgs @ 102kgs UnEq
Some good tekkers there lol
ystradboy79Icon...15-11-2012 @ 12:14 
Avatar
Chris 'The Magician' Melling
Member 1443, 978 posts
SQ 270, BP 180, DL 320
770.0 kgs @ 135kgs UnEq
PAGAN said:I didn't let Jnr start lifting till he was 14 at which point I let Tony loose on him and he started doing max deads and heavy overhead work. He seems ok if a bit more of a c**t than he probably would have been Grin


My daughter used to gymnastics from around 8yrs old. She would do 4 2-3 hr sessions a week. She was incredibly fit and had a six pack but I thought it was all too much at that age but she enjoyed it and it's a fairly common pursuit for young girls so I didn't get involved. She quit when she was 11 but with some older girls the intense training would apparently delay puberty and cause menstrual irregularities which doesn't sound like it can be doing the body much good. I believe this is common with a lot of female athletes in certain sports.



14 is the age ive got in mind for my son if he wants to lift,hes just turned 8 and tbh has no interest in sport whatsoever , hes been to all my comps but hes never asked if he could come to the gym or anything and Im quite happy about that , at the junction sizzler comp he had his nose buried in his 3ds for the duration lol, I will gently encourage him towards sport as gets older purely for the sake of his health and fitness but whether he gets the bug or not will be down to him , as long as hes happy Im happy Happy

1234

© Sugden Barbell 2024 - Mobile Version - Privacy - Terms & Conditions