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Thread: Questions from a teen

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Default Questions from a teen

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    Hello! I'm 14 years old and planning on doing Starting Strength. I have about 3 months till my season starts and I have a few questions.


    1. Am I too young for starting strength? My family and friends have told me this program wasn't made for teens like me. And they said heavylifting at such a young age will affect my growth. And now I'm left confused.
    (And I know getting injured will affect my growth, but they said growing too much muscle will overpower my bones and stunt bone growth.) I'm a lineman and my growth being stunted would be very bad for me.


    2. Is 3 months too short for SS? Unless I do it during the season I can't do it for any longer. I have previously did SS for a month till I had to stop because of the argument I stated above.

    Thanks for any replies given.

  2. #2
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    A lot of serious misconceptions here. Read the boards. Take your time.

  3. #3
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    There are a few great articles on this site that are about younger teens lifting, you should check them out.

  4. #4
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    Search Tanner Stage IV on this site.
    The Forum's search function sucks at times.
    Boards like these are going the way of the dodo.

    starting strength forum tanner stage - Google Search

  5. #5
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    He's 14 Basic, he has no idea what a dodo is. Say something like "its going the way of CD's or peoples senses of humor.'

  6. #6
    Brodie Butland is offline Starting Strength Coach
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pengy53 View Post
    1. Am I too young for starting strength?
    Maybe, maybe not. The general rule of thumb is that if you haven't yet attained Tanner Stage IV (your doctor will be able to tell you if you've hit that or not), then your body is not in a sufficient anabolic state to make the types of progress prescribed in Starting Strength. That's not to say that you can't still get stronger...you'll just have to manage your expectations.

    My family and friends have told me this program wasn't made for teens like me. And they said heavylifting at such a young age will affect my growth. And now I'm left confused.
    (And I know getting injured will affect my growth, but they said growing too much muscle will overpower my bones and stunt bone growth.) I'm a lineman and my growth being stunted would be very bad for me.
    I don't know where exactly this myth came from, but I get pissed off every time I hear it. Weight training will NOT stunt your growth. There is no--zero, nada, zip, zilch--evidence of this being a real phenomenon, and there never has been. Do you realize that when you walk downhill, a force about 4-6 times your bodyweight is being placed directly on your hip joint? How many people do you know stopped growing because they walked downhill too much?

    Nor will muscle "overpower" your bones. Just think about it logically for a second: how, precisely, would gaining lean muscle mass prevent bone growth? What is the physiological mechanism that would cause this? By contrast, weight training requires building new bone matrix and connective tissue in addition to lean muscle...this is why weight training is so effective with people in early stages of osteopenia. You'll actually have more bone if you weight train.


    2. Is 3 months too short for SS? Unless I do it during the season I can't do it for any longer. I have previously did SS for a month till I had to stop because of the argument I stated above.
    I don't think three months of progress from weight training is ever wasted. Go for it.

  7. #7
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    My 13 year old started in september. Has not missed many work outs since that time. His growth has been in squats.

    Started with 95 for work sets as on Monday 215 lbs. for work sets.

    Here is my advice.

    EAT! EAT! EAT! I saw the biggest gains for him when he was eating at his best.

    Start reasonable and don't miss work outs.




  8. #8
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    Thanks guys. I'll definitely look into it. I appreciate it.

  9. #9
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    A couple dozen 12 year old girls in China are squatting twice your bodyweight at this moment.

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    Quote Originally Posted by Carnivroar View Post
    A couple dozen 12 year old girls in China are squatting twice your bodyweight at this moment.
    ^ You sir only amount to half of a fuckwit.

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