How old a person should be to start to do weights.

 There are many benefits to starting children on a strength training program at an early age, including

• Increased strength and power
• Improved body composition
• Greater self-esteem
• Reduction in sports training injuries
• Enhanced sports performance

This proven, research-based book provides young people ages 7 to 15 with a solid fitness base and aerobic activities and stretching exercises. It also presents the principles and practical applications of developing both age and sport-specific strength-training programs.

This British Journal of Sports Medicine study has many elements and parameters for safety to a successful training program for young athletes.

The National Strength and Conditioning Association has an in-depth review of related literature on the topic and posted a thorough statement on the topic as well.

Isn't recommended to  start a young athlete on weights without a well-rounded athletic foundation. Take a solid year or more to work on a calisthenics-based program (pushups, pullups, dips, squats, lunges, plank poses and a variety of core exercises to name several) to build a solid foundation of resistance training without weights. 

As you progress through the calisthenics base, start adding other gear such as dumbbells, barbell basics, suspension training (TRX), and even machines to progress logically to and through the overload process.  Once you start allowing your child to lift weights, do not have them attempt your personal program.  Consider technique and proper skills focus over than how much weight they can do – keep repetitions in the 10-15 rep set range. 

As the new weight lifter progresses, I would also limit amount of weight lifted to below the early teen's body weight.  Basically, keep the weight lifted under their body weight until perfect form can be developed and a need arises, most likely through sports, which requires heavier lifts. 

There is a difference between “lifting weights” and “strength training.”  I strongly prefer to use the term strength training as it encompasses a variety of modalities and methodologies.  You can improve strength without weights. When I say a young player should learn how to squat correctly, I am referring to the functional movement (not implying you load their spine with a barbell!). My goal is not to produce better “weight lifters”, but rather to use appropriate training methods to produce stronger, more coordinated, and more confident players.  A truly comprehensive program utilizes more than just weights.  In fact, some of the most intense and difficult strength workouts we have our players do don’t even use weights!

An age appropriate strength training program will not harm a child’s growth, but will actually help strengthen their skeletal and muscular system as well as their connective tissue.  It will also help facilitate an improvement in their coordination and body awareness.

A proper youth training program should involve dynamic flexibility, movement preparation, footwork, strength training, and agility drills. The program should be done two times per week, for 30-45 minutes per workout, and focus on multi-joint movements such as skipping, hopping, jumping, lunging, squatting, pushing, pulling, throwing, and twisting. The workouts should be challenging, yet fun and engaging with the goal of building great training habits and a solid foundation of efficient movement.

It is important for younger players to regularly experience a variety of motor skills in order to promote future athletic success and injury prevention.  Developing this basic coordination through a wide variety of movements, drills, and exercises is integral… with the eventual goal of developing basketball specific coordination in their teenage years.  In other words, children need to learn how to run and jump properly, how to control their body in space and how to move efficiently before they learn how to dribble, shoot, and pass. They need to do this for the same reason they need to learn addition and subtraction before they learn algebra and geometry… one builds on the other.

Research has shown that coordination is best developed between the ages of 10 to 12 years old.  There are several components to coordination, such as balance, rhythm, body awareness in space, and reaction. Younger players that master these components, and improve their coordination through appropriate training, tend to have better athletic success at later ages. Of course, one’s absolute athletic potential is somewhat pre-determined based on genetic predispositions.  However, regardless of their absolute athletic potential, every young player can make progress. This is why introducing a proper youth training program is so important!

Weight Lifting for Youth: Weight lifting strengthens bones & muscles which can prevent injuries in other activities. Weight lifting builds character: persistence, self-control, confidence,… It sets the trend for a healthy lifestyle, keeping youth away from unhealthy ones. Weight lifting recommendations for youth:

 Supervision: All exercises must be done with proper technique. 

Stop bad technique immediately & discourage it: Warm-up. Warm muscles are harder to injure than cold ones. Always start with an empty barbell & do plenty of warm up sets. 

Technique: You can’t put any weight on the barbell until you can do your exercises correctly. This will act motivating. Stay Away From Failure. Technique deteriorates with heavy attempts. No 1 rep max. Start with an empty barbell, add weight each workout. Weight lifting stunting your growth is one of the many myths still going around. Some believe weight lifting can actually stimulate growth because of increased bone mineralization.