What age should a student be allowed to lift?

[classB4ever]

Here is a question for everyone. What age should a parent allow their children to start lifting weights. I have been a firm believer of not before their sophomore year and maybe even summer going into junior year. After watching numerous games this year, I have noticed young men in 7th and 8th grade who are completely ripped. I know there are certain circumstances and some kids mature faster then others.
So, to all you weight lifting coaches, football coaches and anybody in the business: If kids want to start lifting earlier, what restrictions would you put on it or would you allow it at all?

[Indy5]

I would say summer going into frehsman year is fine. The thing that has to be done, no matter what age they start, is have someone there to teach them all the lifts so they do them properly. And to always have a spotter.

[Sportsrube]

If they know how to do the lifts properly with full range of motion, etc... you can actually start them with lighter weights & more repetitions (10 - 12 reps per set) when they are in Jr High. (summer after their 7th grade year) But they really shouldn't be lifting heavy (6 - 8 reps per set) until HS.

[GRIDIRON GURU]

You are not going to gain much for size and bulk until you reach puberty, which can vary by a year or two for different kids, but learning the lifts in jr high is great useing the proper form and full range of motion.

However growing up on the farm I did a ton of heavy lifting before during and after puberty, bales, feed, rocks, fence posts etc. climbing trees, hay stacks, etc. learning muscle memory at a young age made me much stronger later in life.

So I don't think lifting a reasonable amount of weight at a younger age is as harmful as sitting on a chair playing vidio games, through your pre pubesent years.

[Flip]

If they know how to do the lifts properly with full range of motion, etc... you can actually start them with lighter weights & more repetitions (10 - 12 reps per set) when they are in Jr High. (summer after their 7th grade year) But they really shouldn't be lifting heavy (6 - 8 reps per set) until HS.

Why?

[Sportsrube]

At the JR High age their joints (ligaments, tendons, etc...) are still developing and lifting heavy weights can cause damage whereas lifting lighter weights with more repetitions will start building strength without putting so much stress on their joints. We have a number of JR High kids lifting under the supervision of coaches, PE teachers and our Physical Therapist from the local hospital and it has worked out very well for us. We only let them lift 2 days a week and they follow a pretty set lifting regimine, that way we can try and control the amount of stress on their joints. You also need to tell young kids that the motto "No pain, No gain" is a load of garbage in the weight room, if it hurts you are lifting too much weight or not using proper form.

[Indy5]

At the JR High age their joints (ligaments, tendons, etc...) are still developing and lifting heavy weights can cause damage whereas lifting lighter weights with more repetitions will start building strength without putting so much stress on their joints. We have a number of JR High kids lifting under the supervision of coaches, PE teachers and our Physical Therapist from the local hospital and it has worked out very well for us. We only let them lift 2 days a week and they follow a pretty set lifting regimine, that way we can try and control the amount of stress on their joints. You also need to tell young kids that the motto "No pain, No gain" is a load of garbage in the weight room, if it hurts you are lifting too much weight or not using proper form.

You can tell that to junior high kids, but high school kids need to feel a certain type of pain. Maybe not necessarily a pain, but if they aren't failing on their last set, they're on lifting enough to get the most out of it.

[winner-within]

As far as What age should a Kid start lifting? To answer this question in a broad form I would say 15-16, if your voice has changed and you are well on your way to Maturity ....and thats what I would say If the question also is pertaining to Seriously lifting 5 to 6 days a week, make sure you are with a professional trainer to get you going....also don't look to build bulk if you have a high metabolism and you are naturally ripped, it will take way more calories than you think it will (Shakes and such)...If you are beefy to start with than its a conversion process Body Fat into Muscle...you may even drop in weight but you will Have way more strength because of the conversion.
Before Maturity or Puberty its just conditioning...you don't want to be Micro tearing Muscle at that age...you can do permanent damage.

[Sportsrube]

At the JR High age their joints (ligaments, tendons, etc...) are still developing and lifting heavy weights can cause damage whereas lifting lighter weights with more repetitions will start building strength without putting so much stress on their joints. We have a number of JR High kids lifting under the supervision of coaches, PE teachers and our Physical Therapist from the local hospital and it has worked out very well for us. We only let them lift 2 days a week and they follow a pretty set lifting regimine, that way we can try and control the amount of stress on their joints. You also need to tell young kids that the motto "No pain, No gain" is a load of garbage in the weight room, if it hurts you are lifting too much weight or not using proper form.

You can tell that to junior high kids, but high school kids need to feel a certain type of pain. Maybe not necessarily a pain, but if they aren't failing on their last set, they're on lifting enough to get the most out of it.

Agreed, the pain I am talking about is the sharp sudden pain caused by lifting too much or incorrectly. The pain from having thoroughly exhausted your muscles is the goal if you want to get bigger/stronger.

[cubsfan]

I think it is beneficial for students to start lifting in junior high. I believe it should start out learning from phy ed teacher or a coach. Once they get the basics down I believe they can start going full force freshman year.

[wildcatfan]

As long as they are supervised by someone with knowledge about Muscle building and the anatomy of the body they can definately start lifting in Junior High. Where I see the problem is that a lot of coaches don't know what or how to lift. Someone already stated about the number of reps needed and is right on with the numbers of reps needed in Junior high and High school.

Everyone is worried about their "1 Rep Max" which is an aweful lift, and doesn't do any good athletically, except for maybe setting a foundation. The other thing I see too much of is kids lifting everyday, they need to give their bodies rest (which is when the muscle fibers repair themselves). I beleive that HS and JH kids should only be lifting 3 times a week and never on consecutive days, to give them the rest they need.

[jtdc492]

Most kids from elementary thru high school could get by marvelously with just body weight exercises and plyometrics. Most kids I've seen can't do 20 good push ups or any pull ups. If a kid is doing "body lifts" then maybe he could graduate to weights. I haven't seen any studies that show any detrimental effects from weight training at a young age. But I'd be more concerned with kids doing exercises that promote overall coordination and total body strength. Check out Crossfit workouts on youtube. Workouts of this type improve overall fitness by taxing aerobic and anaerobic systems while improving power.

[ND_beast]

I would say that sixth grade should be the earliest a student should start lifting (with supervision of course). that is when I started and it has been fine