Within reason is it OK?
My lad did well in cycling in 2008 and early 2009 then went back to football. Now he wants to ride and race again after his football season has finished. So at the moment he is training with his football club but has been secretly training with weights.
Not sure if to stop him or advise him?
Of course it's ok, stay off the crappy supplements though all those crappy chemicals will be no good for a growing lad.
I've done a ( lower level ) trampoline coaching course and we were told not to use weight training for kids as it is bad for bone growth.
DONT DO IT!!! weights need to be so tightly controlled to prevent injury in a fully developed adult, let alone a growing lad.
I was racing national standard 800m when I was 15, and started doing weights; now I have a screwed up posture.
If you can find a highly experienced coach who will give 100% one on one supervision, then it would be a great way to start learning correct technique, but keep it to a broom stick rather than a weights bar.
Neither football or cycling require a significant amount of weight training anyway; better things to suplement training with would be stretching, drills, plyometrics and more stretching.
I wouldn't recommend it. If his body is having to spend all it's energy repairing muscles then he won't grow properly. If he does decide to, make sure he eats LOTS, a quality balanced diet though, lots of protein and carbs as well as loads of veg. That way his body will be well nourished and it will be able to cope with both muscle growth and proper growth (i.e getting taller)
Build up slowly though, make sure he spends a while just learning proper lifting technique or else he could damage his posture. OR suggest he tries other sports that'll more naturally build muscle. Rowing, Climbing etc..
Good luck!
Bit of a grey area as some people will say yes some no. It is more related to his developmental age rather than actual age-some 13year olds can be more 'ready' for it that a 15 year old! Probably best to err on the side of caution unless he is being supervised and not doing anything to hinder his development.
What sort of stuff is he doing? How often?
If he did a routine using body weight exercises it might be more suitable at his age/stage of development.
edit-good shout from JonGW there-climbing, rowing possibly swimming can help build strength and may be more suitable.
He bought himself some dumbells a curling bar and belt. It's the dumbells he has been using the most.
Perhaps he only needs to use the dumbells on his left arm given that he's 13 8)
What ever he does, make sure he doesn't spend all his time doing bloody bicep curls!
ignore all the neysayers on here.
if you let him do it, but tell him not to go the heavy he will be fine.
as for weight training stopping bone growth.......load of old tosh......
it will help his sport, whichever he chooses.
I'd say no. Dunbells aren't that great, the ability to be 'off' in terms of the correct movement is very high.
Like others have suggested, training using his own body weight for resistance is probably best. Plenty of time for weights.
Cycle training, its a combination of endurance and strength in his legs. Longer rides and sprint interval work. Yoga or something similar would be great for his core muscle development and should help posture etc.
Hope he does well, great to hear about committed kids willing to work hard.
the belt should go-no need for a belt at all unless he is going for 1 Rep max tests or powerlifting competitions.
If he continues the training try to get a balanced programme of the main bodyparts with light weight and bodyweight exercises. that combined with his cycle/football work will be more than enough. you may want to do a few sessions with him to keep an eye on technique etc?
and it is really encouraging to hear of a kid wanting to improve and work!
Make sure he doesn't over do it, a friend who has a bit of a hunched back puts it down to the fact he started lifting heavy weight at a young age.
it bends ur bones doesnt it?