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Thread: Training and Recovery for an active teenager

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
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    Default Training and Recovery for an active teenager

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    Hello Forum, I'm looking for some advice for my son and I was hoping your collective knowledge and experience could be of assistance.

    My Son is 14 years old, 5'1" tall, weighs 100 lbs, and has recently entered Tanner stage 4.

    He has been easing into the beginner routine, learning the lifts and is now getting serious. His current weights are:
    Squat: 110
    Dead: 130
    Bench: 85
    Press: 60
    Clean: 75

    In addition to his strength training he has Wrestling practice 2 hrs 3 days a week and Judo 2 hrs 2 days a week and he is very committed to both activities.
    I realize that his strength gains will not be optimal with all the extra work he is getting but is it realistic to think that he can still make consistent progress if he is recovering and feeding properly?

    Any advice on how many calories he should be getting?

    Should I be considering GOMAD for him?

    Thanks for your help,
    Lloyd

  2. #2
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    Jun 2013
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    That sounds exactly like me at that age. I wrestled 103. I ended up not much taller and quite a bit heavier as an adult 5'6 195 currently. I would suggest starting with a half gallon and then if that doesn't get the weight moving, add some more. I used this protocol in 10th grade to get my weight to increase from 130lbs to 165lbs.

  3. #3
    Brodie Butland is offline Starting Strength Coach
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    Yeah, this is probably going to have to a be a try-stuff-and-see approach. Your son can definitely make good progress, despite that he likely has the metabolism of a Lamborghini--but you'll have to be especially attentive to what he's eating.

    Even so, you will have to be realistic as to the potential gainzZz, because 10 hours a week of significant activity...plus the activity associated with just being a kid...will cut significantly into recovery, despite that his T-levels are off the charts. Football players have an offseason that they can devote to strength training, and then work on making slower gains during the season...it doesn't sound like your son has that luxury. He should still be able to make some really good progress on linear progression, but he'll probably become a situational intermediate a bit earlier than he would if he were devoting all of his efforts to weight training for a few months. Nothing wrong with that...5 lbs a week is still a good rate of progress.

    But one more thing to keep in mind: we do strength training to supplement our life and make it better. If your son leaves some poundage on the table so he can do activities he enjoys, that's not really a bad thing.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brodie Butland View Post
    Yeah, this is probably going to have to a be a try-stuff-and-see approach. Your son can definitely make good progress, despite that he likely has the metabolism of a Lamborghini--but you'll have to be especially attentive to what he's eating.

    Even so, you will have to be realistic as to the potential gainzZz, because 10 hours a week of significant activity...plus the activity associated with just being a kid...will cut significantly into recovery, despite that his T-levels are off the charts. Football players have an offseason that they can devote to strength training, and then work on making slower gains during the season...it doesn't sound like your son has that luxury. He should still be able to make some really good progress on linear progression, but he'll probably become a situational intermediate a bit earlier than he would if he were devoting all of his efforts to weight training for a few months. Nothing wrong with that...5 lbs a week is still a good rate of progress.

    But one more thing to keep in mind: we do strength training to supplement our life and make it better. If your son leaves some poundage on the table so he can do activities he enjoys, that's not really a bad thing.
    When my kid was on 3 basketball teams he was still making slow progress, not doing the program perfectly..

    Something like Monday bench x Thursday bench x + 2.5 lbs Sunday bench x+5lbs.... Tuesday repeat Sunday's weight and repeat the cycle.

    He's doing the program properly now that basketball season is over. It always seemed to work out to 2 days between every workout, due to scheduling.

  5. #5
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    Thanks for the input guys, it's helpful. Any ideas on how to estimate his calorie requirements?

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by LloydP View Post
    Thanks for the input guys, it's helpful. Any ideas on how to estimate his calorie requirements?
    Many, many calories. Probably more calories than he has time to eat.

    Different case, but my nephew is 14, about 6 feet tall and over 180lbs. He wasn't that tall or heavy a year ago. He ate pretty much everything in sight to support his most recent growth spurt.

  7. #7
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    Government says an active 14 year old need 2800 calories... I suspect his requirement would be north of that. Whole milk + whey + full fat icecream LOL..maybe even use some full fat cream or whipping cream in the shake....

    My kid just does the whey and 1%. But he is coming at it from the other direction, being overweight. He actually gained 6 lbs, but my parents remarked that he looks a lot leaner.

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