So my kid got 315 on the sled and flipped a 250lb tire.

[burnthiscorpse]

I cant train.(starting prolotherapy this week). So I've been training my son. He'll be 10 in a couple months. Doing his off season football prep. Going into his 4th year playing.
Now relax guys.....I know all about starting too soon with the young ones. All he's doing are body weight excercises. Pull ups, chins, and push ups. Plus cardio like tire flipping and sledge hammer/tire stuff. No dumbells, barbells or "bodybuilding" of any kind, squats, deads, ect... til he's 13. Even then 13 and 14 will be spent doing all the things we do but with lighter weights and close attention to learning form and focus ect ect to condition his tendons and ligaments.

So I decided the other day to see where his legs were at strength wise. So I let him on the 45 degree sled. The sled unloaded is 45 lb.

warmup 10x45
135x2
185x2
225x1
275x1
315x1

What amazed me is that he wasnt even sore then next day or the second day.
Since he has my leg genetics I have decided to let him use the sled once a week but no maxing out. Just doing like 135 for 3x10. Just for a little muscle stimulation.
I also have a 250 lb rear tire off a backhoe that I use for sledgehammer work. After seeing the strong man on espn 2 he wanted to try it. So after a lengthy lecture on technique and form and lower back safety he went at it. Only got it a couple times because or yard sucks ass. But still.
Moving in a few days so we'll have tons of room. Which reminds me I need a 5-600 lb tire for myself.
Anyways I was pretty impress for a kid who's not quite 10 yet.

 

[ramnares]

Wow congrats, sounds like you have a little beast on your hands!

 

[Tblock1]

Nice it's always great to see a dad proud of their son. Despite a lot of people saying kids should wait for lifting, I think what you grow up doing you will be good at. Give him a good (but safe) headstart and he will way ahead of others his age

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

The whole thing about children's tendons not being ready for lifting is horse shit. Look at children doing serious gymnastics. Some of the forces they present to their tendons and ligaments is massive due to force production.

I would start having him lift weights, but well within reason and slowly build up using the old 3x10 approach etc.

I remember back in my first year of high school when in weight training class they tested all of us 14 year olds on squats and remembered how impresses me and some other guys were of a few kids that could actually do decent squats with 135.

Imagine your kid walking in there repping 185 like it's nothing lol.

Anyhow I think it's great what you are doing. Instilling a sense of pride in taking care of one's physical self and imparting the benefits of a strong and healthy body to a kid is sorely lacking nowadays with most parents and with schools not having PE etc.

Sounds like your kid is gonna be an animal.

 

[stevesmi]

its a big advantage having a dad like you training your son. alot of those other kids don't have fathers and go into football with zero training in the offseason. your son has a huge advantage

 

[burnthiscorpse]

its a big advantage having a dad like you training your son. alot of those other kids don't have fathers and go into football with zero training in the offseason. your son has a huge advantage

Thanks Steve and all you guys for the back up and support. I'm grooming him to be a defensive end. His Idol is Jared Allen. Also as a contingency plan making him a really good OT.
One of the things I am teaching him and have been for some time is GYM ETIQUETTE!! He already sees people doing stupid stuff and looks at me and goes "are ya kiddin me"?
Basically with the tendon/ligament thing....i got into lifting too much too soon in my teens and early 20's and i'm really paying for it now. So i just want a slow steady start for a few years. The thing that makes me want to be super cautious is that doctors or whoever say that too much weight work too soon can cause long bones to close early possibly causing growth potential to be lessened by who knows....and inch...or 2?? I dont want that.
As I said he's 9. He'll be 10 in 2 mos. He's 5'5" 145 lbs!! Ant he's not fat. Based on me and his mother's side of the family this kid is looking at a minimum of 6'4" and up to even 6'7". He's got my legs (mine are 28" cold when even remotely in shape) he's got my thickness in the back and my wifes width. My goal is to have him at anywhere between 270-300 naturally depending on his height come age 18.
He literally eats as much as I do. He has 1/3 scoop of whey, 1/2 cup milk and 1/2-3/4 cup of liquid egg whites on his own in a shake in the morning then eats cereal. Has the same after working out. Drinks milk like its goin outta style. Doesnt eat garbage or drink soda. By choice.
Come 14 or so I'll start pumping him full of stuff like big blast and buckets of aminos ect ect. Getting him as big and strong and fast as I can.

 

[burnthiscorpse]

I may actually start him on a 3x10 now that you mention it ghetto. Nice and light. My big lecture is always about form form FORM!!
As for the off season training, yes...no one else does it with their kid. Last year my wife made a shoulder harness and he's outside bear crawling across the lawn pulling 25 and 50 lbs behind him. Learning DE techniques ect ect. It showed. 5 sacks, 2 half sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 3 tackles, 1 forced fumble was his best game last year. All this and he doesnt even know how to "switch it on" yet".
I'm like R. Lee Ermy on pvt. Pyle when its time to train. I'm pretty over the top about it. I scream and yell ect ect. But when its done he always gets a hug and reminder that its not personal. When its time to train in the gym and on the field, its time for serious business. He's wise way beyond his years which is good cause he doesnt take my ranting and raving to heart and is always eager to train again.
Rocky is one of his favorite movies and I always tell him...did Mickey coddle Rocky? No. What happened?? He won the fucking championship! Champions never quit or say "can't". In sport or in life. But...you gotta want it.
The one thing I do tell him is, when it comes to the gym and trying to build himself into a monster pysically and on the football field is that along the way you cant be afraid to fail once in a while. It will happen. Use it to make you better.

 

[b fold the truth]

As an athlete and a stay at home dad (read Trophy Husband) it brings a deep warmth to my heart.

Over Easter Holiday (2 weeks here) my son went to the gym with me a couple times when I couldn't find a babysitter. At 3...he loves it as well, loves to watch me train, thinks straining is "normal", and understands that Papa has some shoulder pains going on

 

[moya]

good stuff in here...
hopefully my kids show an interest in lifting soon... my boy is into baseball and my daughter plays competitive soccer for now... though i did get her to deadlift her bw (65lbs) when she was 6...
just keep feeding them and they will grow

 

[the.gladiator1987]

Damn nice bro! That is motivating. My son is only 2 1/2 months old but I pull his arms in the air as if hes doing a bench press just to get his motor pathways used to the motion. Also I roll balls to him just to get his reflexes going. I cant wait to have him doing push ups and sit ups and dominating other 3 yr olds