I am starting to go to the gym again to lift weights and my 10 y/o son wants to join me. Is it okay?

Question

Dr. Cindy Chang, MD · Answer

First of all kudos to you for your son wanting to join you, that's awesome. Really enjoy that bonding time. Of course it's OK. There's a low risk of injury for teens and pre-teens to lift weights as long as they have proper supervision and they have the correct technique. Understand that his growth plates are still open, so you don't want him to do max weights. Low weights and high reps are the way to go to build healthy bones and to build a healthy body. I would suggest that you ask him why he wants to join you. I think you may be surprised at the answer. But if it ends up being that he has any concerns about his body, in terms of his body image, that would be a good answer. That would be a good question to ask him. So you can find out why he wants to do it. And if there is a tendency towards he's feeling insecure about his body image, et cetera, that will be really helpful for you in terms of working with him or involving a health care professional to work with him should there be any concerns that you have. Regardless, when we get to talking about weight training though, besides doing the free weights, also important is resistance bands, which the gym could offer, as well as body weight type of exercises, like even doing bodyweight squats or planks. And those are exercises that you can incorporate even at home. Understand that a child should have three days a week of weight training. And that's not only being in the gym and lifting weights, but it's also being outside and climbing a tree, or being on a rope swing, those types of things. Those are all important things that a kid can do to build healthy bones and also to be healthy overall. So kudos again to you. Have fun with your son. And if you have any more questions, ask. Take care.

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"I am starting to go to the gym again to lift weights and my 10 y/o son wants to join me. Is it okay?"