Advice for a teen
My sons a budding footballer he's 13 and bloody fit but he's wanting to increase his strength,speed and core. He has asked for some weights for Christmas but im not sure if these would be good or bad for him as I know nothing about this field. The speed training he can do on the treadmill or he can get down to the field but the strength and core training im clueless on. He doesn't have a great deal of room in his bedroom so a weight bench is probably out of the bedroom and like most teens its probably a fad that he will give up on. Would some sort of resistance band training kit be suitable for what he wants to work on? Maybe one that he can anchor to his door. And can anyone make any recommendations as to which one preferably one that has some sort of guide/instructions/training plan.Thanks He's at that age where seeing a qualified personal trainer or alike would be a good start. Worth seeing any local gyms/crossfit etc .
I know the crossfit gym I go to does kids classes and teenager classes and there is loads of teenage lads who play football/rugby go to the crossfit classes every week. There is a lower age limit for weights as far as I know (something like 16) since if you start too early it can cause issues since not everything has fully developed. As above, I would get the advice of a qualified personal trainer. I personally wouldn't advise weight lifting for a kid that age. The bones haven't developed and are soft and the ligaments and tendons are weak. Also the growth plates at the end of the bones (epiphyseal plates I think they are called) can be more easily damaged. Our bones grow from these plates so damaging these at a time of growth can effectively stump the growth.
That said, I would recommend press ups for chest, shoulders and triceps, variations of planks for the whole body and variations of sit-ups with twists for the core and pull ups for the back and lats. All of which are less likely to cause harm, free (except for a cheap doorway bar for pull ups) and only need enough room to lay on the floor.
I'm a huge promoter of bodyweight training. Plus burpees... Lots of burpees...
Plenty of apps available to give home workouts for those with no equipment and little room.
I do this with my kids, aged 10 and 8. (The 8 year old girl trounces the 10 year old boy!). There is no logical reason he can't lift weights. All the stuff about it being bad for teenagers is mostly nonsense. How many teenagers hurt playing football itself compared with lifting weights? His football coaches should be able to advise on routines. Wardy, I'm happy to bow to your superior knowledge and experience (I know that you are the real deal) but I know a few kids teams football coaches and they wouldn't know the first thing about weights or resistance training, especially for kids.
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