12-year-old's progress after 1 year on SS

[KevinSimons]

You just walked into the Klan meeting wearing a yarmulke...

I Push Press 300 lbs. I figure I'm pretty safe.

[Shaun]

That's some pretty awesome progress.

One thing I don't think you've mentioned, though, is: did you face a lot of resistance from his parents about the whole weights training thing? I know a lot of parents would flat out never let their children engage in it. I also wonder if TBone faces this issue too...

To go back to the progress he's made, that squat would put him pretty high up the ladder on most commercial gyms, and the deadlift isn't bad either. Pretty awesome that a 12 year old who weights just over 50kg could out squat most adults at my gym!

[KevinSimons]

Thanks, Shaun! I already had a really good relationship with the boy's parents so it wasn't really an issue. They trust me. The boy was getting a lot of crap from his elementary teacher and other misinformed adults though, so he really doesn't talk about his training much. We're sort of keeping it a secret weapon for when he tries out for sports in middle school.

And yeah, his squat and deadlift are pretty incredible for his size and training age. The upper body stuff is taking a bit longer to develop, but I figure once he hits puberty they will sort of catch up.

We are still making steady progress with a very conservative approach. I am working on transferring his training log into an Excel spreadsheet, and I can upload it if anyone is interested.

[mariawolters]

That's awesome! I would like to second what T-Bone said - there's a line between pushing kids to do a sport and pushing them to work harder in the sport they're chosen. It's usually a very clear line, and wise parents (as the parents of the boy Kevin trains appear to be) find the sport the kid wants to do and then work with them.

(I will leave my "exercise builds much needed mental strength" rant for another time.)

[tzanghi]

That progress is fantastic. If you think it would benefit, you can tell him he's stronger than most 20-25 year olds I know including the ones that lift. It's so cool to see a young kid that into lifting and getting the results he has.

[Tamara Reynolds]

One thing I don't think you've mentioned, though, is: did you face a lot of resistance from his parents about the whole weights training thing? I know a lot of parents would flat out never let their children engage in it. I also wonder if TBone faces this issue too...

I don't from the parents of the kids and teens that I coach a my gym only because their parents all lift for me as well. I had some teens at one of the high schools last year, and I simply did a demo and they signed up. I'm not sure if the parents ever understood what we were doing, honestly, but as long as they signed the waiver, I was okay with it.

However, one of my lifters is coaching dance after school at a local elementary school. She asked them if they were interested in a weightlifting club. The Person In Charge said that she would have to do more research because she is a Physical Education Teacher, and she learned that lifting weights is bad for kids.

[hbriem]

Fantastic story.

[PaulBeech]

Dastardly he can press more than you now!

hahaha!

On the 'i wish' note. I was pushed to do gymnastics when i was five and fucking screamed the place down everytime. 26 years later and i kick myself for missing out on something like that.

[Briks42]

Eh, i dont know why you would wish you did something you didn't like when you were a kid. There's a reason you screamed the place down. It sucked to you. Why would you want to have been miserable. What you enjoy now is obviously not the same as what you would have enjoyed as a kid.

That being said, I love the OP's story. Obviously this kid seems to really enjoy lifting and is making great progress. Great work.

[PaulBeech]

Well a lot of it was from being painfully shy. Spent a lot of my youth refusing to take part in group activities and sports without ever even trying. I would be a different man now for sure.