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Should Kids Be Lifting Weights?

By Rick Howard, Men's Health, 08/20/18, 12:00PM PDT

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Many adults, however, have been sold the notion that the only way to sporting success is to earn an athletic scholarship.

Countless people have experienced the benefits that come with strength training as adults as a way to break from their sedentary routines to get fit — but for many, the introduction to weightlifting and conditioning came in their teenage years as a way to train for sports.

Most high school athletic programs have some sort of strength training component, but club and travel sports have ramped up the stakes in kids' athletics at an even earlier stage.

Parents and concerned coaches aren't wrong, then, to question what age is actually safe for kids to hit the weights. Is it only after the onset of puberty? Or will a strength program stunt growth, like some old wives' tales would have you believe?