Starting routine for my 14yr old son??

[nousername]

Hey guys. it's been a while since I have been on here. So I apologize for not "earning my keep" before asking for more advice. But here goes.
So my son finally turned 14. I say finally because he has been waiting for almost two years to turn 14 so the gym I go to would give him a contract. Which I couldn't wait either because he loved coming with me when I could take him with me on sundays sometimes.
He has a natural physique for physique or bodybuilding. Hell, the boys has had a 6 packsince he was like 2!! He already definition to his arms, shoulders, and traps. really just everywhere. He's super lean too.
Any suggestions about where and how to start with him? I have to refrain from being too over eager with him as far as Maybe information overload ya know, or I'm afraid that I will overwhelm him. Any feedback on how I might avoid doing that?Of course as his mother I am biased and so I want to give him the best but that could backfire if I'm not careful.
Should we be being careful about how heavy we go at his age? What would be a good routine or day split range for that age?
Also, because he is super lean and it has always been hard to get him to eat would a protein shake after our workouts be okay for his age? I don't want him to get injured because of lack of the right nutrition or inadequate caloric intake. So any thoughts on that?
Thank you TID. I missed you guys But glad I'm back
Yolie

 

[rawdeal]

Ideally, I would recommend a total body x 3/week, or a similar tweak, like e3d or eod. Maybe 5 or so basic exercises. But then, there is YOU, will you 2 be going to the gym together? Do you go more often, split your bodyparts up more? That will complicate things, 14yo mind, "why can't-shouldn't I do what you do Mom?" You might have to adjust his workout to yours, or yours to his. Do you do anything physical outside the gym, odds are he does sports or something else you do not do outside the gym, gotta adjust the cardio, the calorie-burning, the "discipline threshold" there too. Complicated in every way, Mother will ultimately know best, at first, or after observation and adjustments.

Offhand: Sqts or Leg Presses, Bench and Overhead Presses, Rows and Pulldowns-Pullups, maybe add Deads. That's 5-6, 3 sets each to start. Factor in 14yo boy mindset, add a Bi and a Tri if you have to, don't, if you don't.

FEED him. No one here will know how to get macros into him as well as you will, but he's 14, a difficult eater(?), don't undervalue that. Junk like sugar, salt, fats are not ideal solutions, but they may be temporary ones that will get him launched into the lifestyle, get him asking you for better diets after a year or two of unavoidably visibleprogress. Nice to keep his 6 pack around or very nearby, but my instincts say his 14yo self wants more SIZE before cuts, not sure about that, you're the Mom lol.

Good luck.

 

[rawdeal]

ALSO . . . . . discourage, insofar as possible with those annoying 14yo's, going for PR's, or doing sets of low reps. Opinions on this board will vary as to what "low" reps are. lol, once saw a post on a PL-only board saying "I didn't know they made reps over 3," always loved that thought. Not for your son, however, my opinion would be 8-10 reps for him to start, opinions here will vary, and also with macho 14yo boys. Do your best, make sure warmups are thorough.

 

[BrotherIron]

5x5... Simple, easy, and effective for a beginner.

 

[kyle grey]

Good advice from the other members .

Before he embarks on a training programe I would asses how well he moves and also instill correct technique in the basic ways humans move .

I start with a test of ankle dorsiflexion known as the ankle rock

Then get him grab a broomstick ( if you don't have one already buy one up it's going to be very useful ) and with a relatively close grip and a narrow stance perform a overhead squat .

You will also need to teach him how to correctly hinge

Although this is a sometimes difficult concept with young people you must stress the importance of a good warmup beginning with

2-3 min pulse raiser i.e. Skipping , rowing , jogging , hitting the bag etc

From there I put kids through a circuit x 5 reps per exercise x2 rounds from the list below

Pulling movement - sled pull , single arm db row , TRX rows etc

Hinge - banded good morning , single leg RDL , goat bag swing

Knee bend - goblet squat , overhead squat , lunge with rotation

Push - kettlebell press 1 arm , incline push up

Plyo - box jumps , ladders , medicine ball throws

Carry - waiters carry , farmers walk , suitcase carry , zercher carry etc

Total time should be a little around 10-15 minutes .

If you take my advice and get a broomstick encourage him to try the Olympic lifts ( Snatch and Clean and Jerk ) as these are best learnt at a young age and by emphasising technique you build a strong foundation , physically and psychologically that allows the greatest long term progress .

Also include some GPP ( general physical preparation ) jumping , running and playing games if not involved in sports . Include some high rep work too to encourage tendon strengthening as it's not developed relative to muscle tissue at his age .

 

[nousername]

Awesome. Thank you so much. Will take all of these suggestions.
But no he's not a junk food eater per se. He's just not much of an eater. Never has been. He's not lanky and skrawny at all. Just super lean.
The only thing I knew for sure to start with is focusing on form and proper technique. And of cours he has been a bit cocky about that aspect but not as bad as I thought he would be.
Thank you also, for going over rep ranges because I was definitely wondering about this too.
Oh yes we will definitely be working out together so I have already realize that I will have to modify my own routines, at least until he gets comfortable.
Thank you guys again for taking the time to help me out.

 

[fixxer]

To build upon what Kyle said...

Do a little bit of yoga or something of the like with him to work on flexibility. I wish someone told me how important it was to stay flexible when I first started.

Try focusing him on having a strong body as a unit, not strong muscles. Meaning compound movements, not isolation lifts.

Pullups. Wide grip pullups are where it's at.

 

[PillarofBalance]

Just stick to fundamentals. Won't overload with nonessential information and they work.

Compound movements. Train 3 x per week.

He should focus on his eating especially if he wants to gain size. Just like with training don't distract him with nonsense like "eating clean" or meal timing or nutrient timing. Just get him to focus on eating enough calories at the end of the day.

 

[uphillclimb]

At 14, I wish that I had the guidance.

The kid needs to eat his ass off...food is like the gasoline that we put in our vehicles. As much as I trust POB with 99% of my guidance, I know that at his age, he'll want to be in the gym more than 3x/week so a 5 day split is probably going to appeal to him more than 3x/week.

5x5 programs or pyramid sets are simple and easy to print out from the internet.

But shit, the most important thing to do for him is to feed the ever living hell out of him.

 

[BrotherIron]

I completely disagree about teaching him Oly lifts... He would need to find a qualified Oly coach and if you're in the US they're few and far between. Depending on where you live there are some very good coaches but if you're not in those areas I would steer clear. It's a great way for him to get severely injured. Oly lifts are the most technically difficult lifts to master. The Oly assiting lifts are much easier to learn and have the same degree of carryover to other lifts and sports.

 

[OldManStrength]

Im with POB, compounds all the way, build his core, lower back, thats where all this starts is core.

 

[rawdeal]

lol . . . . hoping nouse keeps coming back here gathering varying opinions on what's best for her son, opinions that seem to vary and converge sometimes.

If not, maybe there's a best selling book in all of this for us?