would this be over training a 14 year old?

[kungfu74]

I have a 14 year old who's playing in select football, currently in basketball and as soon as that's over in a few weeks will be running track.

track / athletic training is everyday in the mornings, football practices will be Mon, Tues, and Fridays.

He wants to do some kettlebell training with me but I'm concerned with everything else he has going on it might be too much for him.

would you say adding 3 days of kettlebell training on wed, thurs and saturdays is going overboard?

he's 5'11' and about 155lbs right now and wants to put on some more strength and speed for his 9nth grade football season. So should I wait till his select football season is over before starting the kettlebell training or get right into it?

any insight would be appreciated!

Do his football and basketball coaches have him doing any weight training already?

For football, he needs weight training. The 5x5 program that I use was originally designed many years ago as a strength training program for football.

If he's only weight training 3x a week he should be ok. But only if he's not weight training for the other sports already.

Most importantly, he's got to eat enough to support what he's doing.

Oh and WELCOME BACK. It's been a long time since I've seen you on the forum. I remember your input as being quite valuable. I do hope you will stick around and participate with us

You likely won't remember me because I've had a screen name change since you were here as a frequent poster...but you were quite encouraging and helpful to me when I first arrived at DF.

[kungfu74]

liftGirl - There isn't any weight training or resistance training, mostly just cardio type drills for basketball and track. In football there is some body weight resistance training but not much.

.V. your memory is pretty impressive as it's been a while since i've been here, or working out for that matter too. no gym memborships, just a 20lb kettle bell sitting here and next week a 35lb one to come, that and a dip / pullup bar is all i'm going to have equipment wise for me and the son to workout with.

I totally agree about eating enough, he's eating me out of house and home and I'm slowly getting him eating cleaner and more often to support his workouts / energy needs per activity I just don't want to over-train my boy because he's athletically more gifted than I was at his age and has some good opportunities to play some sports collegiately if he continues to progress at the rate he has in the last 2 years.

I'll try to be more active here since I'm also starting to get back into it again, though looking around it seems as though there has been a drop off in activity since the last time I was active here. that's unfortunate because this site was an invaluable tool for me years ago!

Originally Posted by kungfu74

liftGirl - There isn't any weight training or resistance training, mostly just cardio type drills for basketball and track. In football there is some body weight resistance training but not much.

If there is no resistance training in his other sports, then I will agree with Andy. There would be no harm (in fact, I think it would help) in his doing some kettlebell work 2-3 times a week with you. This is doubly true if you think he may play in college. He will be expected to train very hard with weights in any college sport.

[bodyshop20]

At 14 i reckon, bring it on.
The lad will know if he is over doing it, let his body tell him and let him learn the signs that his body tell him
Sit back and be proud of the keen lad

My daughter is 14. At her middle school they are doing olympic lifts in gym class. Prior to this she did 5x5, Max OT, and some powerlifting...AT AGE 9. She's had no harm from this and is quite a lovely girl who is in good physical shape, not musclebound or overtrained at all. Another example is a trainer at one of the local gyms. He is putting together an age 8 and up olympic lifting team. I really don't see any harm in the additional weight training.

[kungfu74]

Thanks a lot for the feedback guys!