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TOP 5 THINGS YOU

SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
TEEN BODYBUILDING!
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 WORKOUTS
PROGRAMS
Top 5 Things You Should Know
STRETCHING About Teen Bodybuilding!
EXERCISES
By Shannon Clark
CARDIO Last updated: Feb 08, 2010

MUSCLE GROUPS
Luckily, with a smart teen bodybuilding workout program, changes can
TIPS AND ADVICE
successfully be made. Here are the top 5 things every teen should
GYMS know before starting. Learn more.

HEALTH CONDITIONS
Article Summary:

AGE AND GENDER Increase the intensity by 10% at a time so your body can adapt to the
training stimulus.
Female Bodybuilding
It would be a smart plan to spend a month or so performing only bodyweight
Female Training exercises.
As you go about your program, be sure you take the time to look after your
Over 40 nutrition.
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 Over 60 More and more young adolescents are starting to venture into the world of teen
bodybuilding, hoping to get a head start at changing their bodies and showing off
Teen Training a more muscular physique by the time they hit upper high school levels.

Training Children For many teenagers, their confidence and self-esteem is closely intertwined with
the proportions of their body, with those who are lesser developed really
suffering from feelings of low self-esteem and feeling out of place compared to
PERSONAL TRAINERS
their larger counterparts.
RESEARCH Luckily, with a smart teen bodybuilding workout program, changes can
successfully be made. It's important to know a few key points with regards to teen
TRACKING bodybuilding before jumping into the gym however as if the program is not carried
out in the correct manner, a number of problems could arise.

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 Click Image To Enlarge.
For Many Teenagers, Their Confidence And Self-Esteem
Is Closely Intertwined With The Proportions Of Their Body.

5 Teen Bodybuilding Rules

1. Follow The 10% Rule:

Being that you are still in the rapid growth period that typically happens
during the early adolescent years, if you start up on a teen bodybuilding
workout program that is too intense for what your body is able to handle, this
is going to compromise all the other reactions that are taking place in the
body.

Many teens hear about the rumor that weight training at a young age can
stunt growth and this is the reason that this rumor got started.

You should understand that weight training itself is not going to stunt growth,
but if you are weight training so intensely that the body has no energy left to
use for the natural growth process, that's when you will not reach your full
height.

So the main message here is watch the total intensity of your workouts
during the week and also make sure you're eating enough total calories so
that you still have plenty of energy for the body to grow and function
normally.

It's also a smart plan to aim for increasing the intensity by only 10% at a time,
so your body is better able to adapt to the training stimulus you are providing
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 it.

Click Image To Enlarge.

Watch The Total Intensity Of Your Workouts During The Week
And Make Sure You're Eating Enough Total Calories.

2. Do Bodyweight/Lightweight Exercises For At Least One Month:

If you're a teen who is new to bodybuilding, the second thing you should
keep in mind is that it would be a very smart plan to spend a good month or
so performing only bodyweight exercises.

This will help your body get used to the resistance training type of stimulus
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 without the very high load that accompanies traditional weight lifting
workouts.

You can also perform some of the exercises you do plan on doing such as
squats, bench press, shoulder press, and so on using very light weights (10-
20 pounds) so that you are able to ensure you're using proper form.

Getting proper form down pat before continuing on will be vital to setting you
up for a reduced injury rate in the future.

If you rush into lifting weights too soon, you could compromise your ability to
use good form and develop very bad habits that will be much harder to break
later on.

Click Image To Enlarge.

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 Getting Proper Form Down Pat Before Continuing On Will Be
Vital To Setting You Up For A Reduced Injury Rate In The Future.

3. Correctly Understand The Changes That Are Taking Place In The Body:

When you begin a weight lifting program as a teenager, your body is not
going to react in exactly the same manner as someone who is in their early
twenties or thirties would.

In these younger years you don't have the levels of testosterone going
through your body that older individuals do, or is your body capable of
generating muscle tissue as quickly.

One research study that was conducted out of the Harvard Medical School in
Boston showed that typically when resistance training is carried out at the
younger years, although strength gains can definitely be demonstrated,
usually these specific strength gains are actually due to the result of
increased neuromuscular activation and coordination, not actual muscle
hypertrophy.

Because of this fact, if training is stopped suddenly, there is an increased

chance that the individual will lose some of the size he has gained quicker
than someone at an older age would.

This shouldn't be a deferring factor in getting started on a resistance training

workout, but rather use the information to understand what's going on in
your body so that if something forces you to stop doing your workouts for a
period of time, you don't get too discouraged if you see some size loss.

Typically this size will come back quickly again as soon as you resume
training, especially if the break period only lasts for a month or two.
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 This study also reported that those young athletes who were engaging in the
resistance training were also not at any higher risk of injury than those who
were not, laying to rest the myth that teen bodybuilders are asking for injury.
Keep in mind though this assumes proper form and technique are being
used.

Click Image To Enlarge.

Your Body Is Not Going To React In Exactly The Same Manner
As Someone Who Is In Their Early Twenties Or Thirties Would.

4. Fuel Your Muscles Properly:

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 As you go about your teen bodybuilding workout program, you need to be
sure you take the time to look after your nutrition.

As we touched upon briefly above, if you aren't fueling your body properly,
this does pose a significant threat to proper growth, and since reaching full
height potential is quite important to most teenagers, this is something you're
concerned about.

Remember that you already require a higher number of calories per day on
average during your prime growth years, so then you must add more calories
to this daily total in order to support the workouts, and even more yet if you
do want to grow larger.

A good range to shoot for as far as most teen bodybuilders are concerned is
seventeen to twenty calories per pound.

If you already know you are someone who does tend to put body fat on a bit
easier, then you will want to start at the lower end, while if you're someone
who is thin as a pole right now, move towards the high end.

It's clear that your metabolism is in high gear and if you don't supply enough
calories you could even begin losing more weight.

You, as a teenager, should also not be attempting any intricate diet practices
such as very low carb diets or otherwise, but rather focusing on a mix of
healthy proteins, carbohydrates, and dietary fats.

Limiting the macronutrients at this time could rob your body of micronutrients
(vitamins and minerals) that are needed for proper growth and development.

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 Click Image To Enlarge.
You Need To Be Sure You Take The
Time To Look After Your Nutrition.

5. Maintain Perspective And Balance:

Finally, the fifth thing you should be doing if you're a teenager who is getting
started into teen bodybuilding is maintaining proper perspective and balance.

There are a growing number of teens who do not quite see their real body
looking back at them when they look in the mirror because they are
developing body dysmorphia, which essentially makes them think they are
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 fatter/thinner than what they really are.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder:

Body dysmorphic disorder is a psychological anxiety disorder in which the
affected person is excessively concerned about and preoccupied by a perceived
defect in his or her physical features.

If you begin to find yourself becoming obsessed with gaining size or losing
weight, it's time to take a step back and refocus yourself on what really
matters at this point in your life.

While you do definitely want to work towards a body you are proud off, there
is a fine line between wanting to look your best and feeling as though your
success as a person depends on it.

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 Click Image To Enlarge.
There Is A Fine Line Between Wanting To Look Your Best
And Feeling As Though Your Success As A Person Depends On It.

Conclusion

By maintaining balance with your workout goals and the other activities in your life,
you will set yourself up for many years of healthy working out, which will get you
the body you are looking for in the long run.

Recommended Articles:

Teens: Lose Fat!

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 Are you a teen looking to lose fat? Below I am going to discuss the proper
training, cardio and nutrition to help you reach your goals.
Teen Arm Training!
To build a huge pair of arms, you need a solid training routine to maximize their
development; you can't just curl for hours on end.
Teen's Cliff Notes!
My job today is to give you an introduction to the nutrition, exercise and
supplement programs that will set you apart!
References:

1. Maffulli, N. & Pintore, E. (1990). Intensive training in young adults. British Journal
of Sports Medicine. 24:237-239.
2. Jeffrey, A & Micheli, L.J. (2001). Strength Training for Children and Adolescents.
Journal of American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Vol. 9, No 1, 29-36.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shannon Clark
I’ve been working in the field of exercise
science for the last 8 years. I’ve written a
number of online and print articles.
View All Articles By This Author

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 Kitrak97 (Kartik Kamath)
I am 15 yrs old and i have done d dtp once.. But currently i am
doing bodyweight exercises (with the same intensity as DTP) i want
to know whther this is too intense for my body.. I have been
getting fever after every week of workout recently, is this related
to my workout intensity?

May 11th, 2013 • Report • Reply

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