using weight at 15

half_life_man

Does anyone think I should be using weights at 15 years old? I heard my teacher saying that we shouldnt be using weight at our age because our bodies wouldn't be ready for it.

ronbyrne2005

what height are you??? if you are happy with your height now then i dont see a problem,arnie started at around 14,

zAbbo

Anyone know of good books for someone around the 14-15 age bracket and is interested in fitness/weight training.

half_life_man

i'm about 5'11 and I know how to use them anyway so i dont see a problem

g'em

Are you doing the weights for sports or for aesthetics? In either case it really doesn't make a difference, I'm just curious to see what reasons people start lifting for?

There's lots of misunderstandings about teenagers lifting weights, but as long as its done right, with good form, it's a great way to improve strength/ posture/ general well-being.

There's quite a few articles on www.bodybuilding.com about weightlifting for teenagers, its as good a place as any to start. Plus there's loads of heavy lifters around here who can help you out with specific questions you might have.

amazingemmet

There's no problem with doing weight at 15 they start earlier in the states at about 11-12, once you know what your doing and doing it right i see no problem with it

Cravez

go for it, i started at 16 and im 18 now. As the others have said, with good technique and form you should be ok, just be ready to eat like a bastard

poobum

look at nfl players in america! most of them started at like 11-12! dey are realy tall and tanks! weights young are ok once they are done right! make sure someone goes through dem etc.. before to make sure form s correct if its not done right you could have problems in the future!

ronbyrne2005

poobum wrote:

look at nfl players in america! most of them started at like 11-12! dey are realy tall and tanks! weights young are ok once they are done right! make sure someone goes through dem etc.. before to make sure form s correct if its not done right you could have problems in the future!

nfl players are so big because most of them take steroids,its a well known fact

Limerick Dude

well i row, and i do alot of fitness training and i was told by everyone at the club that 16 is the minimum age you should start doing weights. its because your body is still developing and if you do weights before your 16 it can stun your growth and you can develop alot of problems. but your 15 so i say its not as bad as a 13 year old doing weights. just make sure you know what your doing and get some information from a friend who deos weights

amazingemmet

Limerick dude what you have just said is a total myth and shows that the people your training with don't know what they're talking about.

b2p

All this talk about weights stunting ur growth. They only stunt ur growth if ur doing serious strength training (ie. lifting real heavy weights for 4-8 reps) and even then that is not always the case. And if ur already tall its not a problem. I started on light weights at 14 and moved on to heavy ones at 16 by which time I was six two anyway. If ur really worried bout weights having a negative effect on ur body, stick to bodyweight exercises like pushups and squats etc. until u feel ur ready:).

Limerick Dude

hmm well im 16 now going on 17 and i started rowing when i was just turend 16. but there are other people at the club who are 14 and they are not allowed do weights, and the people who tolde me this are very good rowers and have been rowing for years, maybe theres a reason that rowers cant do weights until after 16???

and ive always thought that 16 was the minimum age even before i started rowing.

Dragan

ronbyrne2005 wrote:

nfl players are so big because most of them take steroids,its a well known fact

You can't really say that most NFL players take steroids and that it is a fact when less than 1% of players have ever failed a gear test.

Hardly a a huge number of them!

Sure, gear usage is a major factor for a a unknown number, but i would say that in the main, more of them don't than do.

But onto the original post, i first picked up a weight when i was 15. I am now 6 foot 3, depending on the time of year will be between 220 and 250 pounds and have never had a lifting related injury ( plenty of beer and idiocy related ones though!!!)

Go for it man, take your time and you will be grand!

poobum

ronbyrne2005 wrote:

nfl players are so big because most of them take steroids,its a well known fact

well dats a load of crap! they get tested alot and they pas! they are big because they train for it from before they get to highschool all through college(90 sumthing percent of them play college football before signing for nfl) and they do it right from that age! any decent highschool that plays football over there are big into weights for a young age! alot of football has to do with strength! more to do with strength then say rugby or anything! its all about short bust strength! plays are usually under a minute each then a break! its about power! they have alot of it! they start young or fall behind! they have people you would be 15 lifting more then most 18yr old rugby players over here!

Dragan

All very good points. There approach to even low level high school football is pretty much out stripping our national rugby team. Go figure.

When the last time you heard of the Irish fella's doing role specific olypmic lifts etc????

In the states these guys are being trained specifically for there position from literally the age of twelve. If they play in college they eat 6 meals a day at the "Team Table", there food is put in front of them and they eat it, they do not leave the table until all plates are clean. They have controlled supplementation also, being handed the best supplements going when they reach the Senior Varsity, and this is COLLEGE BALL.

The NFL teams have training centers that make most OLYMPIC TEAMS jealous. It's all about the money, they make big money for the team owners, so the owners start investing from an early age. Most big teams will have a charity fund that they will provide financial help to promote Football at a school level, so it all swings around.

poobum

also alot of them get personal sponsors from the age of 14 if they show promise! i only know of one rugby player privately sponsored and he is a kicker(outhalf but amazing kicking) and even then all he gets is rugby balls! they get the best instructors etc...they own us in that way! like in our schools the year might have 200 max and we pick the best 15 out of that there years in most american schools would be much bigger! therefore their best team you be of higher quality! better competition produces better players!

pwd

The way that 15 could be seen too young to use weights is that it requires discipline they might not have to develop good technique, without which you might injure yourself with heavy weights.

omb0wyn5ehpij9

As others have said, you just need to have good discipline and form. I started doing weights in third year when i was 15 for junior cup rugby and im 22 now and it didnt stunt my growth at all

poobum

exactly look at most nfl players from like 12 they do them! and they lift heavy the whole time! and go on to any teams website and look up their heights! only guys you will realy find that are short would be recievers! and the odd exceptional player who is so gud that it dosent matter about his height!