Starting young... how would you do it?

[redFury]

I'm a friend of a family of four girls from church... and one of the daughters is crazy strong. She's 9 or 10 years old, and can pick her dad up by grabbing around his legs and standing up. He weighs about 240, and she weighs about 65-70 lbs. She is crazy athletic, and her parents have shown interest in her starting to powerlift (b/c I do).

My question is, this girl is incredibly young and very strong. I've never coached young kids before and so I'm asking for suggestions on how to approach it, both from the physical training and mental aspects. Thoughts?

There is not a doubt in my mind this girl is a gem in the rough.

[Bohizzle]

I'd say start off slow, and get her used to the movements, mainly working on form to start off, and start very light.

[jtteg_x]

she is still very young. id would consult with the family doctor before hand imo.

if not that, dont pressure her into it. avoid strict training and just let her have fun with it. even if u know she can pull/push the weight but she just doesnt want it, dont force her to. My training partner (to his daughter) and I (toward ex gf ) had done this mistake and sure enough it changed their minds on "powerlifting".

[RedSpikeyThing]

you don't even need to get her into a gym. Just show her how to squat and ask if she can do it. She'll mimic you and you can correct it. I think squat jumps would be appropriate, too. You can turn it into game of seeing how high she can jump.
Deadlift would be "pick up the <whatever is laying around> like I do" and correct how she does it.
Bench press would be a whole other story, but I suppose you could do pushups and stuff.

[WillKuenzel]

Initially, just get her to do bodyweight movements. Push-ups, pull-ups, lunges and some bodyweight squats. Just keep her athletic and don't push her. Let her develop on her own, and if she wants more you can lead into more specific stuff like weighted squats or some light benching with a bar. Her main thing will just be early development. Coordination and bodyweight mechanics. Getting too specific too early will either push her away from it or jeopordize something later.

[redFury]

if not that, dont pressure her into it. avoid strict training and just let her have fun with it. even if u know she can pull/push the weight but she just doesnt want it, dont force her to. My training partner (to his daughter) and I (toward ex gf ) had done this mistake and sure enough it changed their minds on "powerlifting".

The interesting part is she wants to do it... she already can do tons of body weight exercises (such as squats) with relative ease. She loves showing off her "strength" to vistors that come to their house and has carried me around the house several times.

I agree with keeping them engaged and doing it all for fun. I thought maybe once a week we would do some fun training.

[redFury]

you don't even need to get her into a gym. Just show her how to squat and ask if she can do it. She'll mimic you and you can correct it. I think squat jumps would be appropriate, too. You can turn it into game of seeing how high she can jump.
Deadlift would be "pick up the <whatever is laying around> like I do" and correct how she does it.
Bench press would be a whole other story, but I suppose you could do pushups and stuff.

They already have a gym at their house that would work fine.... so that isn't an issue anyways.

I really like your ideas on squat jumps... anything to have her run wild and be a little kid might be good.

[redFury]

Initially, just get her to do bodyweight movements. Push-ups, pull-ups, lunges and some bodyweight squats. Just keep her athletic and don't push her. Let her develop on her own, and if she wants more you can lead into more specific stuff like weighted squats or some light benching with a bar. Her main thing will just be early development. Coordination and bodyweight mechanics. Getting too specific too early will either push her away from it or jeopordize something later.

This is a good idea to see if she's interested... maybe some games and things would work well. Seems like I really need to realize that lifting is my love at 23 and very likely not hers at age 10. Once I do that, maybe some box jumps or "obstacle" courses (Crossfit???) might be good.

If I could get her to do pullups all day that would be awesome.

[WillKuenzel]

Also realize that her attention span might not last for more than 15-30 minutes and then she'll get bored. Younger athletes don't always have the discipline to last more than that. Not that it's a bad thing just their age. Games and/or obstacle courses are a good idea. Something with a purpose. Rewards and bribery always work real well. "Do this and this and you'll get this or that."

[Isaac Wilkins]

I probably wouldn't do the box jumps initially, but jumping and bounding on grass is good. Medicine ball stuff is also great with young athletes.

She's strong. Let her be strong. Just work on her coordination, joint toughening, and athleticism at this point. The strength will continue as she grows.

[RedSpikeyThing]

Oops, I forgot about Crossfit Kids

[RhodeHouse]

Let her be a kid

[Isaac Wilkins]

Let her be a kid

Exactly.

[redFury]

Let her be a kid

I'd be curious to hear your explanation. What does "being a kid mean" mean to you? Body weight stuff, etc?

[daved931]

Someone said to consult a physician. I'd go that route before all else. She's still growing.

[Sidior]

I'd be curious to hear your explanation. What does "being a kid mean" mean to you? Body weight stuff, etc?

Powerlifting is a lifestyle. Until she is older why not just encourage her to play some team sports and socialize with other kids.

[redFury]

Powerlifting is a lifestyle. Until she is older why not just encourage her to play some team sports and socialize with other kids.

Ah I see what the thought is... and I agree. To truly become successful in powerlifting, it has to become a lifestyle all year round and I understand that. However, I personally feel that powerlifting should not be a lifestyle for anyone under 18. My personal feelings... for what thats worth.

My thoughts on working with (really playtime) this girl would be a once a week thing. Because she has shown interest, I figure once a week would work well and from the suggestions I've been hearing, would likely be a casual thing and not terribly intense. This approach will not affect her being a kid at all, as long as I know when to back off if she becomes disinterested (1 hr a week is not much).

I will have to mention visiting the doctor before hand, though its likely shed be cleared as she already does team sports 6 months out of the year.

[Ironminded]

Red-
There was a really interesting artical on T-nation a couple of weeks ago that talked about training young athletes, by young I mean under 12. I will try to find the artical but its main focus was about coordination and body control, it would probably be an interesting read in your situation.


Edit; Yeah, Im ******ed. The artical wasn't on T-nation but on Tate's site; Elitefts.com. I can not for the life of me find the artical right now though. I will keep looking though.

[vdizenzo]

I would start her on lots of test and dbol. Then throw her in some good double ply gear. Lastly, get her under the monolift as soon as possible.

[redFury]

Red-
There was a really interesting artical on T-nation a couple of weeks ago that talked about training young athletes, by young I mean under 12. I will try to find the artical but its main focus was about coordination and body control, it would probably be an interesting read in your situation.


Edit; Yeah, Im ******ed. The artical wasn't on T-nation but on Tate's site; Elitefts.com. I can not for the life of me find the artical right now though. I will keep looking though.

Thanks man! I'll have to look for it

[redFury]

I would start her on lots of test and dbol. Then throw her in some good double ply gear. Lastly, get her under the monolift as soon as possible.

Haha... you're killing me! She'd have a mustache before age 11.

Double ply though.... I think Chris Rodgers would support that decision .

[JHarris]

Haha... you're killing me! She'd have a mustache before age 11.

Double ply though.... I think Chris Rodgers would support that decision .

Well, my vote is obvious: show her olympic lifting! She'll get to throw weight up over her head and the loads won't be quite as high which tends to be better for kids.

Then again, I'm a bit biased.

[RhodeHouse]

My thoughts on being a kid - let her play soccer or softball or whatever it is she likes. Playing "regular" sports will help her develope coordination and athleticism more so than lifting will. If she does show interest, take her into the gym 1x per week. Make sure everything she does, she has fun with.

[vrizzle]

OLY!!!!!!!!! If she's that strong she'll travel around the world at a young age just because she's lifting weights. It wouldn't cost her a dime as the great ole US of A would pay for Travel and board.

There's all sorts of International meets; Junior Worlds, Junior International, Quebec Junior championships, and Pan American sub-15 championships.

OLY weightlifting is the way to go if you want to travel over the world. At the OTC you live, eat, and train for FREEEEEE.

[redFury]

Thanks guys for all your responses... I'm a lot closer to having my head on straight on this topic.