Thread: need help with a program for my son

my son turns 13 in a few weeks. he has been dying to go the gym with me for over a year now. the age limit at my gym is 13. i'm gonna start taking him. i work-out at 5 in the morning. that obviously isn't going to work for him with school and all. i'm gonna have to take him on saturday and sunday afternoons.

what would be a good program to start him on? he is VERY physically fit, so it should come natural for him. i just need help guiding him in the right direction. he does tons of push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups already. he loves it.

i work out mon, tues, thurs and fri, so when i take him on the weekends, i will just be there to help him.

My own suggestion is to start him w/ the basics: Squat / Push / Pull. Form is the single greatest thing he can learn at that age. And secondly, that the weight you move is not what makes a good lifter, but rather tight form w/o injury or ego.

Something that has come to my mind is Olympic lifting - I think the form & discipline these guys use is awesome and you actually don't have to be that big to do it. I've seen some skinny guys pull some great lifts and where there are teams or gyms that focus on this, there are kids doing it as well. They spend a lot of time on form and flexibility, working w/ broomsticks to nail the form, and then work on the progression of teh different lifts, including the importance of functional strength and stretching / foam roller work.

But back on topic if that's not an option - start w/ the bar & form. Even use a broom stick to get the form first. Squats can be done as sissy squats or bodyweight squats and then progress up to box squats. DL is another where form is the first step, and then explore the variations (SLDL, sumo, etc.) w/ attention to the back / hams.

Mostly I think I'd be communicating that doing DB curls is not what weightlifting is about and real lifters don't ignore their legs!

And all of this, again w/ attention to appropriate weights that he can handle w/ tight form.