15year old weight training

[Guest guest]

One of his trainers has said the following in an email to him

regarding the dangers of heavy weight training. I do not agree with

what the email states and was hoping for some links to studies on

teenage athletes and the effect of heavy weight training (say around

the 5 rep range per set)

Any help refuting the claims below with studies to back it up would

be great thankyou!

Here is an extract from the email:

" Let's clear up the articles, they're right but not for a weight

lifter of your age as you are growing and heavy load exercises will

have negative effects upon your growth, imparticularly your bones.

Also, the articles don't go into enough physiology to explain why.

So I'll explain below!

There are a few reasons for it. As mentioned in the previous email

you will basically (and simply) stunt your growth; remember i was

saying about Osteoblast cells and Blone platelet cells? That's the

first and probably most serious reason as weight training is meant

to improve your general health and fitness, not make you into a

dwarf. Limiting your capability in this respect is refering to your

bone length (and particularly its lifting heavy loads effect upon

your stride length).

Secondly, limiting your bone length will have adverse effects upon

your muscle fibre length. The longer your muscle fibers, the more

actin and myosin can have contact (this is what causes your muscles

to actually contract and shorten, the more space there is, the more

these can interact, therefore the quicker you can shorten the fibre,

therefore the faster you can contract a muscle, therefore the fasted

you can move a limb). That's put VERY simply....

Fourthly, this is all relevant to limiting your capabilities as if

you start lifting a heavy load to early, your body will accommodate

to THAT particular training stimulus. And as you get older you will

find it difficult to progress and peak as you have already used that

particular progression i.e. lifiing heavy loads. "

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Brad

Lithgow,

Australia