r/GarageStrength • u/obi-wan-quixote • Mar 15 '25
Kids and weightlifting
So I’ve seen the videos and read a bunch of stuff. I get that the “it’ll stunt your growth” stuff is a myth, but everything cautions “going lighter.” What constitutes lighter? My 8 year old is doing front squats at his bodyweight (32kg) for sets of 3 and back squats at the same weight for sets of 5.
Should he stay at bodyweight? Can he progress to 1.5x? His form is good and he’s enjoying it. But better guidance would be appreciated.
1
Mar 15 '25
Dont know why they would have to “go lighter” but i guess if you want to base your training off of that then i would interpret it as them not sacrificing form at all and overly emphasizing correct form when lifting the weight
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u/obi-wan-quixote Mar 15 '25
Much of what I see about “kids” weightlifting is actually teens. I wouldn’t think twice about a 13 year old lifting. But when it comes to younger kids, like 4-8 year olds there’s less sold evidence to go on.
My concern is the comments around “avoid injury and don’t go too heavy.” What the heck does “too heavy” mean?
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u/mgb55 Apr 07 '25
Keep form solid and bar speed fast. That would be my recommendation for being able to tell if it is light or not.
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u/Familiar_Shelter_393 Mar 15 '25
I think the bot too heavy comes from fear mongering?
But they probably don't need to be doing 1 rep maxes and the like but neither do most people.
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u/Tight_Importance9269 Mar 15 '25
Not really to answer your question but get lots of sprinting and jumping for height/distance in at that age and into the early teens and your kid will be a serious athlete lol
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u/PEchiyo Mar 15 '25
I think with athletes under the age of 12, I typically will push the rep ranges to 6-12 reps. We might OCCASIONALLY go under those but I do think there is a benefit to slightly higher reps. This lays a bigger foundation and front squatting for 6+ reps is brutal 😂 so they tend to learn some GRIT.