my friends say to me that i should not yet work out because i'm still growing. im 17 btw. So im planning on just doing sit ups & push ups in my house but i am not sure if pushups can stump my growth... do you guys have any idea of what workouts young people should avoid and what workouts they CAN do?
120498
That is bull!  Do any kind of reasonable, safe workout you want.
437558
Please tell me where you read or who told you that lifting weights will cause problems with your growth!!\nIf it was true you wouldn't have had one arm bigger!\nLight weights with many repetitions are good for you no matter what your age.\n\nBeing unbalanced with one side of your body (it's not just your arm, it's your shoulder, back and chest muscles) may cause you to get back problems later in life.\n\nI played tennis since 7 years old and my coaches recommended from very early on to do light weights and to try and do more reps with my non-dominant side than with my playing arm.
509104
Alright Mr. Rickster, you just wait till im on level 2 then I'm going to rate you! lol. anyway, youre 12... yes. also youre 5'6". let me tell you something. im 17, 5'7" and 150lbs... am I fat? no, im not. i could use a bit more muscle, but i dunno if you knew this, muscle weighs more than fat, so once i start gaining muscle, who knows, i could get up to 160. (but i hope not)\n\nyoure also going to grow a bit more, so youll probably gain a few more pounds. but think, its not fat that youre gaining, its... YOU your bones are growing, along with the rest of you. so just think.
139195
there are so many different exercises for the different muscle groups of your body. but i'm assuming (cuz you're a 7th grade boy) you want to work out your chest and arms and stomach. am i right?\nwell anyway the gym is pretty failsafe...it has so many different machines. push ups are good, so are situps, crunches, that sort of thing. running is good for leg workouts and to build stamina. swimming is a whole body workout, and also fun! =)\ni would recommend weights to build arm strength. curls, bench press, that kind of thing. go with your dad or something. that's what i did.
256423
yes and no.\nweight lifting will make your bones grow stronger and denser, and at some ages maybe longer.\nbeing an 18 yr old male you still can and probably will grown until you are 21 or so.\nlifting weights puts extra strain on your bones as your muscles grow bigger, and your bones will grow to adjust to this new change. whether they grow in width, density or length is a variable.\na good rule of thumb is not to do any weight lifting that involves lifting something higher than your shoulders b/c this can injure your back, or stunt your growth.\nany physical exercise, at any age, will improve your bone structure, so i'd say go for it, it definitely wont harm you any even if you dont grow.\ni would consult a trainer at the gym if i were you, and also ask them about resistance training, this can be a good alternative to weight lifting.\nNOTE: this is KEY to growing, you must get enough sleep, optimum hours for growth and healing of a body are 10pm-6am, so if you can be asleep during these hours that will be great. and make sure you eat a balanced diet, and take multi vitamins.\ngood luck
469498
Bruce just live, exercise is part of normal life. if you don't move enough your body will not work well. even going to the toilet is funtioned by good movement. you must find a good motivation, walking, running, cycling, swimming, I am disabled to certain degree 30%, but I try to move as much as possable, walking in the mountains cycling along side a river. I have to go to hospital next week for a knee replacement in the right side, unyet I spent a week looking after a friends dog, in a high mountain, walking, and enjoying fresh air, since I know what movement I have now, I will have the benifit after my operation. you must not let your muscles fail at an early age, you will be worse as you get older. enjoy life, exercise also gets a control on depresion, which if you are not getting out enough, I would say you are suffering with. you will enlarge most muscles and blood supply, which I am sure you know you need to enlarge****
407907
Been there, done that. I think, for me it was a way of over-compensating for a lack of self esteem or a sense of inadequacy. I was the proverbial skinny guy who became obsessed with working out probably for reasons not unlike the reasons for why girls sometimes starve themselves because of a poor body image.  That being said, I would suggest what others have already said. Don't limit yourself to just lifting weights. If it's muscle you want, then you might just very well end up defeating the purpose. Try other things that strengthen you in different ways. My personal choices include martial arts, running and yoga type stretching in addition to body weight exercises for strength training and muscle gain. I realize that this doesn't really answer your question. I'm guess I'm just saying that if you're going to be an exercise junkie then you might as well be a well rounded one. People become addicted to various things because those given things seem to offer a positive reward. If this much is good then more must be better. It seems you are very much enjoying the benefit of your efforts and I congratulate you on your transformation, But if you're an insecure person attempting to solve the problem by creating muscles, you will probably end up being just an insecure guy with muscles. Keep your goal in mind and realize that too much of one thing is actually counter-productive which defeats the purpose. I wouln't be too hard on yourself. Sometimes we need to go to extremes in order to understand what it means to be balanced. So go ahead and give yourself permission to be that way for awhile, but do it with awareness. Consider it a learning process. Experience is the best teacher.
596424
Weight gain through exercise means putting on muscle (which is heavy). To achieve this, you should concentrate on resistance training rather than cardio, but at 15 you are too young to be stressing your skeleton with heavy weights. Give your muscles a chance to recover and grow between exercise sessions, which means taking one or two day breaks after every work-out. Eat as much protein as you can, drink plenty of water and get lots of sleep.\nThis is not a recipe for total health and fitness, just building up muscle.
37861
That is very impressive!  I think at 15 you are probably ok to be lifting weights.  Its really pre-teens that need to be careful with working out.  You may want to ask your doctor for a professional opinion, though.\nIn any case, keep up the good work and stay away from the juice.
578346
ok here me out, 48 ?! no, in 48 days you cannot grow a bit taller, you can try, by playing basket ball jumping high and holding on to the rim a while, b4 letting go, but then again, that may only stretch your arms out. hehe, no, not likely.  To grow taller, i only suggest higher shoes. Other than that, you would need to go on a very strict diet, of healthy stuff, NO JUNK FOOD, no rice unless its brown, and no bread unless it's wheat. Anything you feel like eating that you know has grease like French Fries, eat carrots and celery instead. Did you know that Celery actually burns calories while you eat it! To strengthen forearms and shoulder, I would suggest doing push ups, pulls ups, and weight lifting, i know you dont want to do that, but use the little weights on one arm and then switch or do them together, but dont do too  much or too little where there is no effect, maybe 5 minutes on each arm, start out with 2 minutes then go up 2 every 3 days, til you get used to it, along with the push ups and pull ups.  You must also do Cardio to work out your entire body, such as running, or the elliptical, bicycling, I would start with an hour a day work out, then after a week  go to an hour and a half. Make sure you Stretch b4 and after these excersises. you can do 15 minutes of stretching b4 and after, as your excersises increase add an extra 5 minutes of stretching b4 and after.  Hope this helps... Good Luck! \n\nP.S. If you are sore the next day, the best thing is NOT to quit, to work out again, it will help you not be as sore. :)
556312
hardcore! \n\ni respect that. \nhow often do you change your routines?\ni feel once your muscles are accustomed to a certain exercise--you must stimulate them differently if you want optimal growth...\nyou want to constantly challenge them to perform new types of movement that will recruit more fibers to help you perform your exercises\n\nsomething tells me you definitely know what you're doing =P\nbut perhaps --if you change your exercises--once every 4-6 weeks--you might gain better results\n\nalso--4-5 exercises per body part sounds little too exhaustive--maybe 2-3? as long as you do them with all out intensity \n\ngood luck
620278
A lot of effective excersizes don't require weights, things like push-up, pull-up, sit-up... stretching is also very important. You should look for books that can give helpful insight, not only for a balanced and effective workout routine, but also nutritional tips, etc. I'll post a recommendation if I find one worthwhile.
340931
you shouldn't be on the same workout plan for over six weeks, for starters. you need to periodize your routine, change it up at least every 4 weeks. that will not only keep it more interesting, but it will also force your muscles to grow more, because if you're doing the same thing for 6 weeks at a time, your muscles have long since adapted & are not being challenged, and therefore are not growing. if you're trying to gain weight, have you tried a lean bulking diet? if not let me know & I will be more than happy to send you one that I've put people on & they've had great success (I've never done it simply because I've never tried to bulk, being a female, I just don't want to do that personally). Also, what kind of routine do you normally do???
355360
Recent research has shown that lifting weights does not stunt the growth of youths.  That is, as long as they're not power-lifting.  Regular lifting (higher reps, lower weights) does not have any effect on the growth of youths...regardless of age.  I forgot where I read this article, but it also says that bodybuilding-type lifting (power-lifting) does stunt growth, however.  But as far as regular lifting...no...
30295
Can I ask why you are worried?\n\nAt 14, your body will store "energy" to grow.  This is not to say you should plant on the couch and stuff burgers in your mouth, but do not obsess!\n\nBe active.  Dance, aerobics, whatever you enjoy, but don't sweat it.  Your body will go through odd spurts to grow.  Please don't worry too much about it, but just try to remain healthy.\n\nAFTER your body has reached it growth peak, you need to burn more calories that you intake, to lose weight.  If you are truly concerned, see your doctor for advice.\n\nI say this as someone that had to overcome an eating disorder.
226342
if you are a late bloomer then you might not be able to get 4 to 6 pack abs just yet.  Testosterone is required to bulk up your muscles, and if youre still waiting for puberty, then you aren't producing enough to build up muscle.\n\nAnd as for being fat, many people still have baby fat until their late teens; also, you might want to check what youre eating.  Are you eating whole grains? Fruits and vegetables? a healthy portion of meats and dairy products?\n\nAlso, you need to like yourself as you are now, because if you dont now, you wont later, no matter how many lbs you lose or how many muscles you gain.\n\nDon't worry, just stick with it; these things take time.
436294
As long as you're getting good sleep, and eating a healthy diet for your current weight, you'll be just fine lifting weights as much as you can tolerate.\n\nYou will definitely not stunt your growth.  Just the opposite, actually, as your homone laiden blood system is primed for growth right now, like at no other time.\n\nIt will not make you shorter at all.  That is a complete myth.  Cardio will not affect you negatively either.\n\nTry some of the guides at www.teenbodybuilding.com.  They will help you with both diet and workout plans.