Run-Down Forums

[guest]

Will doing weight training stunt your growth?? i always think that it will, some people say yes, some say no?

what's really the answer???

[guest]

oh yeah, and I'm 14 years old...

[Dan]

I've never heard that before, nor can I think of any reason why it would. Are you sure you aren't thinking of coffee?

Dan

[guest]

soooo....Dan, you saying it doesn't?

nope, i ain't thinking of coffee...i heard weights hurts your back , thats why.

[Dan]

What would hurting your back have to do with stunting growth? Any activity can hurt your back if done improperly...

Dan

[Paul]

The notion that weight training will stunt your growth is an old wives tale from 40+ years ago. About the only things outside of disease that can stunt your growth would be severe nutritional deficiencies. What weight training will do for you is increase the strength of your muscles, tendons, and ligaments, and increase the density of your bones, all highly desireable elements in any sport!! One of the big questions in our current time is how early can one start. The answer right now seems to be as early as 11 or 12. I certainly wouldn't hesitate to start a strength program if that is your inclination. The only pitfall would be if you are going through a tremendous growth spurt. Then the big problem would be you would have a greater exposure to injury do to the softness of the bones and connective tissue, and the change in leverage positions at the joints. But that still wouldn't stunt your growth. The solution would be simply to ease up on the amount of weight you are lifting.

Assuming you are a runner, since you are visiting this Forum, a simple circuit training program done 2-3 times a week for 30-45 minutes will be perfect to get you started. I will assume you are in or just starting high school, or maybe you are thinking of joining a gym. There should be people that can get you started. Don't let someone talk you into 4-5 hours a week of weight training. That is not your focus. There are also a lot of good books on the subject if you have access to a decent library.

Paul

[Distance_Guru]

Paul you know your stuff. Weights do not stunt your growth. As was alluded to above improper nutrition can cause growth problems. The only way that the two could even be associated is if you had a young person doing something like bodybuilding. In other words having a very strange and stressfull diet that went along with all the weight training. Also most of the best body builders currently (at least the one's I know of) aren't that tall. Which could re-enforce the false notion that wieght lifting causes stunted growth.
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Time is the fire in which we burn

[Dan]

[Distance_Guru]

I tend to think the same way. Just as people that are naturally thin make the best distance runners. People that have short fairly broad bodies tend to be able to put on more muscle and therefore make better body builders.
_________________
Time is the fire in which we burn