guy at gym is hellbent onme NOT doing squats

[dj ben2]

i went to my local gym today to have a look around at their equipment and when i mentioned if they had a squat rack he started droning on about how squats and deads are bad for me as im only 15 and he was HELLBENT on persuading me not to do them he just wouldnt leave me alone he had a serious face and actually is making me think maybe they are not good for me any opinions .....

 

[Warboss Alex]

He's saying that because they're dangerous exercises that you can hurt yourself on easily; if so the gym is probably liable for damages. That's why he's trying to put you off. There's no reason why you can't squat and deadlift at 15 if you do it properly.. but that applies to any age.

 

[dj ben2]

yeah... he wasnt trying to discourage me from going or anything he was just trying to convert me to using a leg press and other machines

 

[musclyjerk]

There are plenty of guys like that in the gym. They need to mind their own business.

I would imagine he simply doesn't want to see you doing serious lifts because his ego is so fragile it would feel under attack.

The Muscly Jerk

 

[Warboss Alex]

You'll be fine mate, get in there and lift.

Remember that gym trainers are told to discourage people from doing big lifts anyway.

 

[Skilla_Staz]

Actually, squats and deads are incredibly dangerous. I mean, hell. By doing them you run the risk of putting on some serious mass. These gains in overall body strength and muscularity could lead to some serious problems...



*Edit: Kinda like one of those Tag commercials...

"Warning: Squats and deadlifts are not responsible for any advantages in life that you may experience due to the strength and size gains associated with the two. The overall increase in muscularity that you may experience is a common side effect, and the makers of Squat and Deadlift highly recommend that you approach these exercises with caution. You. will. grow."

 

[musclyjerk]

Rofl Skilla!

The Muscly Jerk

 

[KarmaSutra]

He's saying that because they're dangerous exercises that you can hurt yourself on easily; if so the gym is probably liable for damages. That's why he's trying to put you off. There's no reason why you can't squat and deadlift at 15 if you do it properly.. but that applies to any age.

I completely agree.

 

[MuayThai]

I heard really young guys should only do light isolation exercises to reduce pressuring they're skeleton into what it doesn't want to do.

But at 15 you should be alright man, as long as you don't try and become Arnie too soon. Remember, you're still young, you can't be putting your body through 5 day work outs and sever fat loss. So just chill and keep fit. Looking like an animal comes later.

 

[yake]

Is it possible that machine squats are harder than barbell squats, at least on some machines? The machine in my gym is somehow slanted and allows you to go very far down. I use that right now. 50 kg (110 pounds I think) are ****ing hard. Of course, I am just starting out, but still. I am gonna try regular squats next workout, but I think this kind of slanted machine (with a slanted foot board as well) is pretty hard.

 

[Ice Cold]

First 2 months NEVER go to the max and ALWAYS make sure your back is as straight as possible.

There's a lot of little things about squats which you have to do if you don't want injury. I'd suggest finding some olympic lifter club in your area and joining. Once you hit 100 kilos or so, you can injure your spine real easy.

 

[John_Galt]

Just politely tell him to **** off.

 

[Road Demon]

You are 15, WHY are you weight training? Wait.

NO squats. Too young. I will have to agree with the Personal Trainer. I have trained alot of under 19 year old althletes.

Go do track and field sports at your high school. Do Body weight exercises...like decline pushups, sit-up, crunches, etc. Work on your speed and agility and overall body coodination. Play Soccer to build your legs.

Heavy squats at your age will stimulate you long bone growth plates to fuse. That will cause you to LIMIT your geneticallly determined height. Kinda stupid to do ?

Start weight training when you are 17-18. Trust the PhD on this one.

 

[Ice Cold]

You are 15, WHY are you weight training? Wait.

NO squats. Too young. I will have to agree with the Personal Trainer. I have trained alot of under 19 year old althletes.

Go do track and field sports at your high school. Do Body weight exercises...like decline pushups, sit-up, crunches, etc. Work on your speed and agility and overall body coodination. Play Soccer to build your legs.

Heavy squats at your age will stimulate you long bone growth plates to fuse. That will cause you to LIMIT your geneticallly determined height. Kinda stupid to do ?

Start weight training when you are 17-18. Trust the PhD on this one.

It's an urban myth propagated by the housewifes.

It stems from the fact that all successful heavylifters/olympic lifters have to be short to win. If you're short - then you don't have to lift the weight as far up... and hence you win.

Heavy lifting actually stimulated bone growth - not inhibits it.

If stress inhibited bone grown, then you'd get shorter legs from running. Supposedly running is putting compressing stress on your bones and their growth would be inhibited.

You get my drift?

 

[md3sign]

You know it's funny that people say deadlifts and squats are so dangerous, yet the most popular, and technically the most dangerous compound movement performed at the typical gym is the bench press. It's the only one you can't bail out of easily, and causes more deaths per year than any other gym excersize. But everyone still does it ... ignorance is bliss. Squat away padawan.

And why on earth would squats cause your ephysial (sp?) plates to fuse? sigh

 

[Ice Cold]

Trust the PhD on this one.

Whose PhD?

 

[Road Demon]

ice cold. You are wrong. Not an urban myth.

Growth takes place at the epiphyseal growth plate of long bones by a finely balanced cycle of cartilage growth, matrix formation and calcification of cartilage that acts as a scaffold for bone formation. This sequence of cellular events constitutes endochondral ossification. Another feature of bone growth is a process of modelling, where bone is being continuously resorbed and replaced by new bone. Modelling is most active during childhood and adolescence, and enables long bones to increase in diameter, to change shape and develop a marrow cavity.

Its a function of Load on the long bone. Are you aware of the forces that are generated on the long bones during the squat lift?

I never said squats were dangerous. I recommend them to as THE foundation exercise for any program. Listen He is 15 years old, not 18. Big difference in physical maturity.

Look at my signature.

 

[Warboss Alex]

*refrains from commenting on PhD's and the like *

 

[Ice Cold]

ice cold. NO you are wrong. Not an urban myth.

Growth takes place at the epiphyseal growth plate of long bones by a finely balanced cycle of cartilage growth, matrix formation and calcification of cartilage that acts as a scaffold for bone formation. This sequence of cellular events constitutes endochondral ossification. Another feature of bone growth is a process of modelling, where bone is being continuously resorbed and replaced by new bone. Modelling is most active during childhood and adolescence, and enables long bones to increase in diameter, to change shape and develop a marrow cavity.

That's great, but knowledge of histo 101 is not everything.

1) Cartilage is flexible and application of stress does not change its shape. After the stress it just springs back to normal form and keeps growing according to genetic program. That's the wonderful thing about collagen and RF.

2) In order to change the shape of the bone you would somehow need to alter the pattern of osteoblast activity. Having a large weight for less than 10 minutes per week will not affect it, because the cell activity is not changed.

3)NOTHING died in the epiphyseal growth plate. The osteoblasts are still there, the osteoclasts are still there. And all of the ECM is intact. The only thing that happened is a pressure stress, which will simply inhibit the osteoclasts hormonally and will make the bones stronger.

I don't know of any studies done on this topic with statistically significant numbers.

Let's consider an example in archaeology. 2 different cultures. The children of one culture spend a lot of time sitting in chairs. The children of the other sit on the floor.

If your theory is true, then there would be differences in pervic structure which is modified by the pressure applied to the sacrotuberus would change its shape. It's never observed.

 

[Zero Hero]

You probably shouldn't do squats at 15. You don't have the overall body strength yet. You'd be better off listening to the PT and do isolation exercises at first.