Mr Britain

weight lifting?

I am 13 (i'll be14 in june) and i am 5'7, i play fottball so i need to bulk up so my friend suggested me to free weight soi am planning to buy a pair of 5kg dumbbells, can lifting weights stunt growth?

Public Comments

1. Absolutely not! That is a urban legend. Doctors and trainers have written books documenting that weightlifting cannot stunt growth. Growth is affected almost entirely by genetics but can also be affected by a person's diet (i.e. what types of food they eat).
2. Of course not. Just make you sure you take a couple days off after lifting, and dont try to lift too much at first. It's better to do a lot of reps with a light weight, than just a couple reps with a really heavy weight.
3. Lifting weights probably does not stunt growth. However, lifting weights at your age may put you at risk of certain injuries. Since you are 13, you are probably still growing. As long as you are growing, your bones are more delicate than those of adults. I'm not saying that you can't life weights, but you should do it cautiously. Here are a few safety guidelines: 1. Always warm-up first - cold muscles are stiff muscles that are injured quickly. 2. Do weights only 3 times a week at most, and mix it up with cardio and flexibility exercise. 3. Start light - you may want to start with a pair of 2kg dumbbells. 4. Follow the 10% rule - this means that you should only increase your training by a maximum of 10% each week. For example, if you are weight training for 20 min, 3x/week, you can increase your training to 22 min, 3x/week the next week. Likewise, if you are lifting 5lb weights one week, only increase it to 5.5lbs the next week. Even if it feels easy, don't be tempted to increase your training too fast - you risk injury that could put you out for the season. 5. Make sure you are trained by someone who is qualified - your coach should know about weight training. Alternatively, you could look into your local gym. Make sure whomever you ask has fitness certification specifically in weight training.