Kids, TV Watching, and Obesity

Franklin: I posted some information above, but what you should really do is buy a good mass gain program and follow it to the letter. If you want an effective and reasonably cheap program, try the e-book "The Truth About Building Muscle" by Sean Nalewanyj (www.musclegaintruth.com). If you want a printed book and are willing to pay more, try "Gaining Mass" by Anthony Ellis (www.fastmusclegain.com).

Both of these programs were written by former skinny guys, are suited for beginners like you, and will help you put a lot of muscle onto your frame. Considering your current height and weight, I wouldn't be surprised if you put on 30-50 pounds of muscle within half a year. Once you start eating and training right, you will be absolutely amazed at how fast you can grow.

Thanks a lot man

I dont think 14 or 15 year olds can bench over 250lbs squat over 300 lbs like you guys are saying about yourselves. If you started lifting weights at puberty (age 14) that gives you one year to reach those numbers.

What you kids need to do is to stop lying and start lifting.

anonn: Some of us hit puberty earlier. I finished growing before I turned 12 (it runs in my family). For me, this would give 3 years of lifting.

However, 250 lbs for the bench and 300 lbs for the squat is definitely attainable in a year, especially for the young and crazy. Especially the 300 lb squat; that should be pretty easy. Teenagers will progress very quickly if they train correctly, due to the high levels of hormones.

This is even more possible for kids who grew up in farming areas. I was amazed when I came to college and saw kids from suburbs. They were much, much smaller than where I came from. Even the kids in my area who didn't exercise were more muscular. The difference? Probably diet.

Finally, who said they waited till puberty to start lifting? They could have been playing sports before then.

Ryan's right. It's very possible. I know some pretty giant guys my age.

im 16 n i weigh 52kgs only and i am 5feet 4 inches tall and a vegetrian.n i have recently started body building. so can anyone advise me if i should take protein shakes and creatine. and will this weight lifting have an effect on my height.
desprate to get answers
dhav

im 17
5'10"
190lbs
bench-365
Squat-475-500
Deadlift- 500
CLean-300

Keep on working out and eating well, Anthony.

I still havent gotten any good advice on bulking up.

Franklin: I recommended some good resources to look to. A good bulking program addresses many, many factors on diet, training, rest, etc. The general idea behind bulking is simple, but the execution can be very complex. Most programs are in book form because that's what's required to describe them properly. I can point you to some great books (not just the ones above) that I can almost guarantee will give you great results, but I can't describe an entire bulking program on this board. It would be like, well, writing a book.

well then please reccomend me something.

Well, the two I recommended before are probably your best bets. They really are. For a good discussion on bodybuilding diet, try "Muscle Building Nutrition" by Will Brink. It also has a great section on weight training by Charles Poliquin, who is a name you should watch for. "Building the Classic Physique the Natural Way" by Steve Reeves is a good book that not only focuses on bodybuilding but also on healthy living in general.

If you're up for something more controversial, get "Unleashing the Wild Physique" by Vince Gironda, who knew more about bodybuilding than anyone. Some of the exercises you'll find in it are strange, but amazingly effective. The diet is different from anything you'll find today as well. Many people today look down on his methods as being "crazy" or "old-fashioned". However, I think the results are really what matters, so look at what Larry Scott, Frank Zane, Mohammed Makkawy, and Lou Ferrigno achieved with him naturally. This is what I plan to follow when it's time to bulk again.

hey im 15 and have been doin dumbells for almost a year now, i can now do 45kg in each arm. i am 5'11 and i weigh 88 kgs. i find that theres nothin wrong with lifting cauz i used to lift a bit like 15 kg and i weighed 70 then wen i finally reached 45 on each arm i weighed 88. and its not fat either.

I've been weight lifting for about 2 years now and I'm always concerned that too much weight lifting will stunt my growth. I think I've been exaggerating with lifting weights and I don't know whether I should continue. I work out every other day. I like to see how much my max is with benching but I dont know whether that is healthy or not for a 14 year-old like me. My max for benching is 160 and squating 200. I weigh about 120 pounds. Please tell me whether I should continue with my routine. Thanks.

name is coby im 13 and ive been lifting for mabe half a year now and ive been wondering if i should take some kind of legal muscle enhanceing product ??
bench-160
squat-245
curl-85
leg extend-180
leg curl-120

coby: I'm glad to be able to answer this question. Yes, if you pick products that will make you more healthy, and not just more muscular. The best muscle enhancing product is good nutrition. If you were to buy any one supplement, your money would best be spent on a good multi-vitamin. Your regular old Centrum won't cut it either. If you're not looking to spend much, get AST Multi Pro 32X. If you have a little extra money, get Animal Pak.

Next, you may be thinking about creatine. Creatine is ok, but it has its downfalls. I actually find that dessicated liver tablets taken with my meals work as well as creatine, perhaps even better. Plus, dessicated liver tablets won't give you gastrointestinal problems. I use Universal's liver tablets.

Finally, I can recommend some less crucial supplements. Taking an extra gram of Vitamin C may help keep you from being sore. Kelp tablets are good for keeping your metabolism running strong. Finally, a good calcium supplement never hurts (make sure it has both Vitamin D and magnesium too). Always try to spread out your supplementation across meals.

However, you need to realize that the food you eat is most important. Which reminds me, if you're going to use any protein powder, use milk-and-egg and not whey or soy. For a reasonably good diet that is less controversial, read Sean Nalewanyj's book (www.musclegaintruth.com). If you are ready for something that is much more effective but many will find controversial, call Ron Kosloff at (313) 372-1807.

i am 13 and i can only bench 100 lbs
i weigh 110 is that good ?

Im 16 and weigh 170. I bench 160, clean 135, curl 95, reverse curl 90, and military 110. It is all natural. I didn't take anything to get me stronger. I was wondering if i should be maxing higher since it's all natural. Is that average?

i am 14 and when should i start creatine and when i do take it what is the safe way to take it because i heard that there can be bad sideeffects from not drinking enough water?

Daniel, you don't need any supplements other than a good multivitamin.

chris v and Adam: How much you're lifting depends on your form.

Daniel: To expand on what Jan's saying, most young people who are looking to put on muscle are looking for that "magic bullet" supplement. It doesn't exist. Nutrition is at least 85% of the battle. Eating a good diet and taking a good multivitamin will do most of the work. After that, train with good form and always shoot for progression.

I am 14 as of this July. I dont use creatine, here are my numbers, are they good or great for my age, because at my school i can bench more than anyone my age.

Bench- 155
Squat- 450
Curl- 80
Clean- Dont know what this is...

coby said:
name is coby im 13 and ive been lifting for mabe half a year now and ive been wondering if i should take some kind of legal muscle enhanceing product ?? bench-160 squat-245 curl-85 leg extend-180 leg curl-120[...]

Isaiah said:
I am 13 and I lift:[...]

willam said:
i am 14 as of May i bench press 220 sqat 325 clean and jerk 165 curl 150 [...]

matthew said:
bench-320-no lie squat-320 curl-120 powerclean-250 handclean-200 incline-160 im 15 i take creatine i eat right and drink protein shakes and do 200 pushups a night, any body want to get buff like that, do what i did.[...]

read this if u like some suger and wana loose weight all you have to do is eat 4 bowls of lucky charms a day .its the best i LOST 50 POUNDS already. it has one gram of saturated fat ONLY when cherios have 2.5 shame on thewm for having that much fat in what is known to be HEALTHY HEART CRAAPPPP

im 16 i bench about 380 on a bad day 400 on a good. thas just how i roll. everyone takes there car to the gym about couple miles away . i like to jog especially in the winter. when you do it it feels soo good. if you do all this youl be loosing wieght like zoom zoom zooommmm.

Chris, that is terrible advice. 4 bowls of cereal a day is not enough calories or anything for a developing teen. 4g fat is not enough to keep brain cells working correctly, and there is also not nearly enough protein to keep your body healthy, or even carb although it is loaded with sugar.

i am 12 yrs old i way 110 and i was thinking of getting a bech set for christmas i was just wondering how much should i try to lift and how long would it take to see results in my arms and chest

hi im 13 im 5.6 and weigh 140pounds i bench 100 pounds is that goog for my age

im jake and im 13
im 5'6 and weigh 125 lbs
my max bench is 150 thats all i know
i dont take creatine or protein shakes or anything like that. Is my bench good? and would creatine or protein shakes help?

John & Jake: How much you can bench is severely influenced by how good your form is. I'm 5'9, carry at least 166 lbs of lean mass with a pretty decent chest, and I bench 100 pounds in my workouts. The difference is that I use a very wide grip, flare out my elbows to the side, keep my knees near my chest, and lower the bar to my neck. If I were to take a 1 rep max and use terrible form, I could probably do twice that weight. Don't think in terms of numbers.

Jake: creatine is an unecessary supplement. If you are going to take supplements, take a good multivitamin plus some vitamin C (no multi has enough C). Getting enough protein is important too, and if you have a problem eating protein at certain times of the day, like for a snack, protein powder can help. But real food, like tuna, steak, eggs, etc. will always be better than any protein powder. Of course, if your choice of snack is either just apple or apple + protein drink, then apple + protein drink wins.

Grant i dont see you puttin any numbers up for someone tht talks so much shit im the strongest kid in the 9th grade at my school and im fourteen so get over it

my name is nathan i am 15 and have been bodybuilding for 3 months .its rubbish they say wheitliftin stunts growth if u strech first its better for u i grow 3 inches . iwant 2 know is crreatine good 4 u when ure 5foot 5 ?
do 6 sets of of 6 reps on really heavy weights and do a bodypart once or twice a week for eight weeks and then rest 4 a week .u will see ure power shootin up . is shakes good 4 u too ? i nned more power.

Nathan: creatine is an unnecessary supplement. Shakes are also unnecessary.

You should take a good multivitamin and some vitamin C (the multi never has enough) and get enough protein in your diet. If there are times of the day where you can't eat real food (which is always better than meal replacements), then whey protein powder can help. Pure whey protein, not Super Mega Mass Gainer Shake or something like that - those are nothing but a ton of sugar. You might as well eat a candy bar, at least it will taste good.

Nathan: In addition to the multivitamin and vitamin C, you might also want to take dessicated liver tablets with meals. Those will do at least as much as creatine.

As far as protein, whey may be good for post-workout, but I don't believe it should be consumed any time else. Use milk-and-egg protein. From here on, I'm going to go into something more controversial. I personally mix my protein with whole milk and whole eggs. Raw eggs are #1 when it comes to protein. Make sure not to take out the yolks; the fat is important to the process of building muscle. In the same turn, eat beef instead of chicken or fish. Carbs should be limited to about 10-20% of your calories. Protein should make up about 30% of calories. Remember, you can only utilize about 50 grams in a single sitting.

Ryan, I try to avoid egg protein cause it makes me incredibly gas-y. And cause if I try to add it to a shake, it gets this snot-like consistency.

But I don't really use whey that often either. I'd rather chew my food.

jessie said:
im am 13 years old and want to start pumping iron but nobody can answer my question WILL IT STUNT MY GROWTH[...]

kevs said:
yo i jsut turnedd 15 bout 2 months ago and i bench 245.. my whole workout is mainly aimed to increase my bench press...taking CREATINE gave me HUGE STRENGTH gains but didnt do to much for my wiehgt... but if your thinking about trying it ide definetly recomend it because it makes you way stronger and it did make me gain about 5 pounds...for me it h[...]

I am 12 years old and want to start lifting, like my legs and stuff, but nobody can answer my question WILL IT STUNT MY GROWTH?