Lifting for a 12 year old girl? Please help.

[Brandonrhyse]

Aight brahs my 12 year old sister has taken a keen interest in lifting and getting a better body, and i know that stunting growth and all that is a myth and blah blah but i still don't want her to hurt herself, so she wants to get in better conditioning for netball and to get a decent body as i think she's a little insecure, now i generally don't mind giving advice to mates and stuff about lifting but i feel this is a little out of my expertise. Honestly i have no idea where to begin. Would it be okay for her to lift? Should she just be doing body weight stuff? What sort of programs? Should be calculating macros at her age?

If it matters at all she's 5'7 and 61kg, her arms are like 10 inches so like ye..


Cliffs

- can my 12 year old sister lift?

- what sort of lifting to get a body like the pics and improve netball skills.


If u help thanks it means a lot.

[lucia316]

Counting calories and macros? Maybe not. Learning about nutrition and how it has an effect on her body could be useful and important.

As to training. I'd suggest the route I took with my daughter. Get her in the gym. Let her work with you. Make her work with body weight or just the bar or small dumbbells until she can mimic the form you're going to have her watch in videos, obviously with proper form.

When she can do those things then help her slowly ramp up. If she has an interest in lifting weights, there is no reason to tell her not to do it. As a father, I'd also not get her in the habit of comparing herself to other women. That **** is going to happen fast enough. Better to help her build her self-esteem and not get her worrying about looking about photoshopped models.

[hardyboysare]

Being 12 years old it is important to consider a few factors in order to offer a suitable answer to your query such as what equipment is available, has she started adolescence, will you be supporting her through the exercises in question and ensuring balance between working out, personal life and school work. That said I will try my best to answer it generically as possible.

Generally I usually recommend this program to most if not all beginner females (I have also seen supporting critics from others who have introduced this to adolescent females with good success).

https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/c...s_workouts_in/ - This is the beginner program to Bret Contreras and comes highly recommended. More info is available in his book and his website which I have linked for you (please look past the IFBB model advice and focus on the basic advice given)

https://bretcontreras.com/

He also has a YouTube website which maybe useful for the generation which your sister is in. However again I would ensure you explain to her that she doesn't need to follow the advice perfectly its just a guide and helpful tips into exercises.

Now as she is 12 she has absolutely no need to count calories or macros this simply is not required or advised at her age, she should eat to hunger cues, her BMI is in the upper health range which is fine (BMI is a tad misleading with females during puberty but helps point the correct direction). She simply needs to get mainly nutritional food sources contain minimal processed foods included lean meats, fruit, veg, whole grain, eggs, dairy , legumes etc. As for empty calories these should be limited to snacks and treats here and there but certainly not avoided as at the end of the day calories are calories for growth. It would be helpful is she could up her protein intake but this can simply be done by adding extra protein sources into her diet and consuming them during her main meals time no need to count. Now assuming she has started puberty (which I imagine she has at her age) her goal is to carry out resistant training ensuring she progressively increasing weight and volume.

No need to focus on increasing body weight for the time being as she will be going through massive changes anyway so its very unpredictable, but by carrying out an effective program, being active and eating a range of nutritional food sources she will be able to make massive changes.

Answer to your cliffs:-

Yes

Program above will help and advised. As for netball see advice below.

As for training for netball I am a tad rusty on this one as I haven't coached it for nearly 10 years that said the key factors required include balance, flexibility, speed/ agility, aerobic endurance, muscular power and co-ordination. Some of these factors are not related to weight training such as speed and aerobic endurance. That said by undertaking weight training it will aid in her functional ability:-

Balance (major compounds will ensuring balance improvement such as squat)
Flexibility (undertaking some of the lifts require a good degree of flexibility such as weighted back extension)
Co-ordination (see balance but also lunges are great for this)
Muscular power (self explanatory from weight training).

As for more training advice relating to netball here is a link of certain training programs available.

https://www.englandnetball.co.uk/app...-Academies.pdf

[etet1919]

^^ Great advice above!!

When I was 12, I was a competitive gymnast...and just practicing the sport alone whipped me into great shape, from both an overall conditioning and strength standpoint.

Netball is an endurance sport, and participation may be all she needs to lose weight (if not at a healthy weight for her age and height). The key is to advocate a more physically active daily regimen, while fostering healthy teamwork social skills! This, in itself, may be enough to build her confidence, both on and off the court. Many different sports do this for kids at all ages and levels.

One other note: If the two of you feel comfortable training together, great! Is there a big sis or an avid fitness mom that can act as a role model, as well?

[spradish]

I would definitely not have her counting calories or macros at this time. She is at at good weight for her height, so she's already naturally eating at a good calorie level. I'd just probably talk about being sure to eat protein with every meal. I have a 12 year old daughter who is slim but I try to talk up protein with her because she naturally veers toward eating too little of it.

The program that hardyboys linked is good. You could buy her the book that it is from--Strong Curves--if you want a Christmas gift idea. Another good book would be New Rules of Lifting for Women. Both books have really good exercise glossaries in the back (pictures and descriptions of various lifts.)