Whether teenagers want to increase power for a sport or simply feel stronger, they may start asking about dumbbells and weight machines. Not only can teens feel confused about how to properly weight lift, others around them may express concern about possible stunting or injury associated with their young age. This confusion and concern lead to the question, can teenagers lift weights?
Teens experience many health benefits by lifting weights in a safe manner. Weight lifting improves bone and muscle strength, increases fitness, boosts mental health, and supports healthy weight maintenance. They should avoid power lifting or trying to lift a maximum amount of weight without a trained professional’s guidance.
Finally, teens can put to rest their concerns about stunted growth as research does not indicate any link between lifting weights and lack of normal growth. Continue reading to find out more about weight lifting as a teenager and how to do so in an effective and safe way.
What age can teenagers start going to the gym?
Most gyms allow anyone 12 years of age or older to attend. Often those under age 16 are required to have an adult present with them. The American CDC recommends 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity daily with three days of bone and muscle strengthening activities. If going to the gym helps a teenager meet these guidelines, then they should look into individual gym age requirements.
The gym, especially the weight room, often has equipment that leads to injury when used incorrectly. Teenagers should seek guidance from an expert before using unfamiliar equipment or techniques. Parents should ensure adult supervision when teenagers go to the gym.
What age can teenagers start lifting weights?
Some experts recommend waiting until teenagers reach the age of 12, but others offer no specific age for when kids can start lifting weights. The decision to lift weights should come after teens appropriately assess their health status with a doctor.
Teenagers who lack access to weights or prefer alternative exercises can take advantage of the many different forms of physical activity with similar benefits. Teenagers can use body weight exercises such as pull-ups, push-ups and squats. They can also use resistance bands to help build strength or enjoy other activities such as climbing, jumping rope or even doing some weight bearing chores around the house.
Tips for teenagers starting to lift weights?
Weight lifting supports teenage health in a variety of ways. Yet when done incorrectly, lifting weight can cause harm. Teenagers should seek guidance from a certified expert before starting out. The following tips can also improve weight lifting outcomes for a teenager new to this method of physical activity.
- Practice proper technique without weights first. The amount of weight lifted matters little if a teenager performs the move incorrectly. Proper form cannot be emphasized enough.
- Add a short aerobic warm up routine prior to lifting weights. Specifically try to activate muscles that will be used.
- With adding weight, choose weights that allow for 8-15 repetitions (reps). Failure after only a few reps means a teenager should choose lighter weights. This practice will encourage injury free strength training.
- Lift under supervision and with a spotter. A spotter helps with those last few reps and prevents weights from falling on and injuring the lifter.
- Avoid lifting through pain. Ignoring pain to finish a set or a workout can lead to injuries. These injuries will affect the realization of strength training goals much more than not finishing that last lift or taking a few days of rest.
- Take break days or avoid using the same muscles on back to back days. This effective practice may translate into alternating arms, core and leg workouts or doing aerobic exercises between strength training days. Allowing muscles to recover between sessions maximizes muscle growth and prevents burnout.
- Cool-down with a stretching routine.
- Eat adequate calories and nutrients to fuel activity and support recovery. Also, drink unsweetened beverages throughout the day to maintain good hydration.
- Avoid use of supplements unless under the direction of a healthcare professional such as a doctor or registered dietitian.
- Prioritize quality sleep. The 8-10 recommended hours of sleep promote growth and recovery, along with overall health.
Should teenagers take a weight training class?
A weight training class provides a great opportunity for teenagers to learn correct form and technique. These lessons will help teens to build a pattern of fitness throughout their lives. However, teenagers will want to avoid certain weight training classes that focus on powerlifting or bulking up.
Powerlifting with excessively heavy weights can cause injury to a growing teenager. Teenagers build strength safely by choosing weights that allow for repetition and multiple sets. They should also look for classes led by trained experts.
Can a teenager build muscle without a gym?
Teenagers who want to build strength but cannot access the gym have many options within the walls of their own homes. Body weight exercises are actually quite effective, including things like push-ups and planks. Also, regular day-to-day items such as milk gallons, cans of food or chairs can make some great at home gym equipment.
Many free websites offer fun, but challenging ideas, expert advice and programs. When using online sources, look for proper credentials of the trainers.
The following exercises will help a teenager build strength without the need for a gym or weights. These are just a few of the many body weight exercises:
Legs: calf raises, lunge variations, glute bridges, bulgarian lunges, frog jumps, donkey kicks and fire hydrants, squats
Core: mountain climbers, planks, side planks, bicycle crunches, reverse crunches
Arms: push-ups, pull-ups, tricep dips, arm circles, pike push-ups
Can teenagers build muscle?
The production of certain hormones after puberty allow teenagers to build muscle. Specifically, testosterone assists in building muscle tissue. Males will naturally have more testosterone than females, which is why they find it easier to gain muscle mass. Before going through puberty, an individual can increase strength, but not muscle mass.
Additionally, teenagers will find it difficult to build muscle when not eating enough calories. The body needs adequate calories to meet energy demand and to repair and build new muscle tissue. With this knowledge in mind, teenagers should avoid restrictive diets or trying to lose weight.
I’ve written several meal plans for active teens that I highly recommend for those who are interested in building muscle or losing fat. They can be accessed in the downloads area of my site.
What is the best diet for building muscle in teens?
A balanced and varied meal pattern will assist a teenager with building strength and muscle. Teens should avoid exclusion of nutrients or entire food groups for the most effective nutrition results.
The three macronutrients essential to a healthy diet include carbohydrates, protein and fat. They each play a role in the body’s ability to recover and grow between workouts.
The best way to obtain the micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) comes through eating a variety of nutrient dense foods, including fruits and vegetables. These micronutrients aid in energy production, immune health, building muscle and much more. Supplements cannot make up for a poor diet and they lack other beneficial food components such as antioxidants, phytochemicals, polyphenols, fiber and water.
Protein
As the building block to the body, protein plays an important role in body tissue and muscle repair and growth. Teens should aim to consume 10-30% of their calories as protein. The following calculation can also help adolescents determine protein needs.
- Non-athletes: Body weight (in pounds) x 0.3-0.4
- Athletes: Body weight (in pounds) x 0.45-0.6
Most teenagers in the U.S do not need to worry about protein intake. The average diet generally contains more than enough protein to meet recommended intake. Instead, best practice for most effective use of protein involves frequency of intake.
Protein pulsing means eating 15-30g protein every 3-4 hours. As the body can only use this amount of protein every few hours, consuming 70g of protein through a large shake supplement provides little benefit. Spacing out intake by adding protein to each meal and snack will prevent protein wasting, or not using the protein nutrient for intended body tissue growth and repair.
Combining protein with carbohydrate 30 minutes to 2 hours after a workout will also help the body repair well between training sessions.
Quality protein sources: seafood, eggs, lean meat or poultry, beans, soy products, nuts, seeds, cottage cheese, milk, cheese, yogurt
For more information on protein needs for teenagers, read my article How Much Protein Should Teenagers be Getting?
Carbohydrates
Sometimes the focus on protein causes teenagers to miss out on the importance of carbohydrates. Adequate carbohydrate intake should be emphasized in those hoping to see results from a training plan. Carbohydrates provide the energy for workouts, help the body absorb protein for the body, and provide important nutrients.
A balanced meal pattern will include 45-65% of calories as carbohydrate. As mentioned earlier, a moderate protein and high carbohydrate snack after a workout improves repair and growth. The carbohydrates improve protein absorption and replenish important energy stores.
Choosing nutrient dense carbohydrate foods improves health outcomes for a teenager. Ultra-processed carbohydrate foods should be limited as these foods lack nutrients.
Quality carbohydrate sources: whole grains, starchy vegetables (potatoes, winter squash, corn, peas), fruit, milk, yogurt, beans
Fat
Dietary fat keeps teenagers healthy. A lack of fat in the diet affects growth, development, organ/brain health, satiation at meals and nutrient absorption. Teenagers should consume 25-35% of their calories as fat.
Teens will want to choose more unsaturated fats than saturated fats. Unsaturated fats boost heart and body health while excess saturated fat may do the opposite.
Unsaturated fat sources: plant oils, nuts, seeds, fatty fish, avocados, olives
Teenagers who feel tired all the time and fail to see desired results from exercise may want to take a look at their diets. Restriction and lack of nutrient dense foods can contribute to these symptoms. Adolescents should focus on balance, inclusion and variety in their eating patterns to maximize efforts in the gym.
Should teenagers use protein supplements to gain muscle?
The average American teen consumes more than enough protein without the need for a protein supplement. On top of this lack of any real need, the FDA does not regulate supplements well. This lack of oversight means supplements can contain contaminants or misinformation.
Teenagers will benefit more from getting their protein needs through food rather than supplements. Food will also provide other nutrients and health promoting food components lacking in a dietary supplement.
If teenagers decide to use protein supplements, they should take care to ensure safety of the product. Teens should look for third party tested supplements. Seals from these companies indicate safety and accuracy of information regarding the product.
These companies include NSF, US Pharmacopeia (USP), TGA Approved, IFOS & IKOS and Consumer Lab. Teenagers will also want to speak to their doctor or another healthcare professional before taking any supplement.
For more information on supplements recommended for teens, read my article: Best Supplements for Teenage Athletes.
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