My 8yr Old's Log - maybe...

[al420]

So I gave my son his bar and training plates for X-mas. It's a 10kg bar w/ Oly collars and the same spacing as a womens bar. It is sweet. Big thanks to Glenn Pendlay for getting it here on time - I didn't order it till last Wednesday!

Quality is great, it felt pretty heavy when I was toying w/ it but my son man handled it. Here is what he did:

Back Squats: BWx5x5, 10kg x3x3

Deadlift: Broom Stick x10x1, 10kg x3x5

Clean Pull: Broom Stick x10x1, 10kg x3x5

No training plates today so everything was from the floor. I am focusing on his back staying straight and watching his form closely (thank God for the Hatch vids). He did an awesome job and wanted to do so much more but I didn't let him. I am really proud as I type this.

I need to get w/ GP about his prepubesant training philosophy a little more. I know they train lifts in a time segment w/ lots of singles. The local Russian Oly guru and Arnold silver medalist said I could bring my boy in anytime to "get some quality work in" (must be read in russian accent)

 

[super_rice]

sounds sweet! it must be exciting to witness the development of a champion!

 

[Cynical Simian]

Good stuff...

If I remember correctly, Glenn has made some pretty detailed posts about his thoughts on training children here. Put that Plat membership to good use and find them.

 

[majutsu]

i've been training my 10-year old a year or so , and got him a bigger set this christmas. isn't it fantastic? to do everything early the way you wish you did! even if my son doesn't lift forever, i am sure the body awareness and muscle mass will serve him well. that makes me happy. good man!

 

[SgtSlaughter]

very cool bro!

He'll be snatching his BW in no time

 

[treilin]

well you know where to find me just in case... How exciting!!

 

[petpre61]

you better start to show him barbell curls soon

 

[BiggT]

Awesome....I'm subscribed. He should be properly jacked for the first day of middle school in a few years, which is always an added bonus for a young man......One thing I was always greatful for with starting lifting early (13, but I wish I was even younger) was the fact that I could come to the first day of school like a hard ass, lol.

8 is a great time for this though.....form will be a given, just second nature for him in a couple years.

 

[jpt]

wow...awesome bro! must feel great seeing your son do deadlifts haha!

 

[FFQuads]

So I gave my son his bar and training plates for X-mas. It's a 10kg bar w/ Oly collars and the same spacing as a womens bar. It is sweet. Big thanks to Glenn Pendlay for getting it here on time - I didn't order it till last Wednesday!

Quality is great, it felt pretty heavy when I was toying w/ it but my son man handled it. Here is what he did:

Back Squats: BWx5x5, 10kg x3x3

Deadlift: Broom Stick x10x1, 10kg x3x5

Clean Pull: Broom Stick x10x1, 10kg x3x5

No training plates today so everything was from the floor. I am focusing on his back staying straight and watching his form closely (thank God for the Hatch vids). He did an awesome job and wanted to do so much more but I didn't let him. I am really proud as I type this.

I need to get w/ GP about his prepubesant training philosophy a little more. I know they train lifts in a time segment w/ lots of singles. The local Russian Oly guru and Arnold silver medalist said I could bring my boy in anytime to "get some quality work in" (must be read in russian accent)

That is sad and your son in just a weak as you! My 4 year old was repin' 25 lbs. DL for repin' while he had a cig. in his mouth a couple of weeks ago.

 

[al420]

That is sad and your son in just a weak as you! My 4 year old was repin' 25 lbs. DL for repin' while he had a cig. in his mouth a couple of weeks ago.

Just wait moron b/c we don't cage the animals at my house - we roam free.

What brand of cig's does your 4yr old like?

How much can Harley Con Cusho Clean and Jerk?

 

[super_rice]

Hey got your PM.

Do you do the oly lifts yourself? I don't recall you mentioning them so I find it a little out of the blue that you are getting your son into them.

At this age, I would stick to teaching him all the lifts with a broomstick, and then progress to the 10kg bar in a few months. The bar and weights for now can be used for back/front squatting. Teach him overhead squats too. Once he develops some foundations of strength, you will be able to teach technique efficiently.

I would teach the snatch first, just like to any other athlete. It is the most technically demanding lift, and once you understand how to pull in the snatch, the clean is not hard to learn. IMO, a clean allows for much more cheating and technique flaws, whereas in a snatch, it's perfect or it doesn't go up.

There are varying methods of teaching a snatch/clean.

For the few athletes I've tried teaching it to, it's worked well in this progression:

Snatch Grip Push Press
Snatch Grip Jerk
Snatch Grip Jerk + Overhead Squat
Drop Snatch

Sott's Press

Snatch Pull

Snatch from the Hip
Snatch from Below the Knee
Full Snatch

Power Snatch absolutely last



For cleans:

Front Squat
Clean Pull
Clean from Below the Knee
Full Clean
Power Clean

 

[BiggT]

I just wanted to comment that I couldn't agree more with SR's post. The clean is very easy to screw up and to muscle up......if an athlete can snatch, they can do absolutely anything in a weightroom without much trouble.

Also, I agree that the power versions 'teach' horrendous technique. I love them and they can play an important role, but learning the full version will ensure correct technique on everything else.

 

[curgeo]

My son just turned one and I can't wait until he gets a little older so I can train with him. Great job and Glen is the one I would trust on setting training up for kids.

 

[glennpendlay]

al420, you emailed me, and I think the email got lost with all the holiday backlog, in any event, I cant find it. Please email me again and we can talk.

BTW, I have an 8 year old girl who just snatched 30kg, or 66lbs. not my girl, just someone I coach.

I also have a kid who just turned 7 who snatched 25kg and clean and jerked 32kg, and hes a very little guy, probably weighs about 22-25kg.

Not bragging here, I just like the little fellas and like to toot their horn every once in a while!

My son just turned one and I can't wait until he gets a little older so I can train with him. Great job and Glen is the one I would trust on setting training up for kids.

 

[curgeo]

Glen, if you don't mind, I have a question for you:

I have read some of the Russian Texts on weightlifting. It speaks of making sure a child starts in a sport like soccer early (4 or 5) as to develop most of the motor skills that he will need for life such as running, jumping, ambidexterity, kicking and change of direction. It then speaks of specializing in specific sports later in life. Do you subscribe to that theory or would you specialize early?

Do you have your kids do core and bodyweight exercises before you had them weightlift? I don't have the skill to teach the olympic lifts as I assume the skill needed to master them is quite high. With the right teacher such as yourself, I know the mechanics are dead on in the lifts and the motor learning occurs, but what is your recommendation in comparison to Roman or Medvedyev on age, skills and particular training with bodyweight, powerlifts and olympic lifts?

Sorry this question is so indepth, but I want to know what would be right for my son who already shows my stocky build and bull-like grace.

Thank you.

 

[anotherbutters]

Threads like this make me want to have kids.

 

[glennpendlay]

Curgeo,

Everything has to be taken in context. And the Russian context is much different than the American one. I would like to say just one thing that I think gives me a little "authority" on applying the Soviet methods to American kids and athletes... and that is that unlike most who try to solve this puzzle, I have actually been to Russia, back when they still had the hammer and sickle flying, and trained there, and I have gotten drunk with Medvedev, and been to the strip clubs with him, and he is the one who taught me to clean and jerk and snatch. And I have an autographed copy of his books that are in the russian language, as well as numerous hammer and sickle banners that were pillaged from red square as well as other places, along with the usual hand carved chess sets and artwork and pictures of russian girls both naked and clothed to prove it. There is also a pic of Medvedev and me drinking vodka together at a strip club in the book "Practical Programming". enough said.

Let me start by saying this. They were never as scientific as most believe. Its a big country. many people were doing many things. Nobody knows what some people were doing. Much of what is written is conjecture. Yurik Vardanyian told me face to face that the national team coaches never knew what he did, and even when he was at the national training camps he didnt do what he was supposed to do. His son Norik told me that he cold never follow the standard squat program because of sore knees.

When I was at the Moscow training center, teams came from different cities. They put towels on the windows to keep rival coaches and athletes from seeing how they trained. I gave my belt to a lifter who didnt have one and couldnt afford one, and soon after I gave it to him, a group of lifters from a rival city forcably took it away from him. And I do mean by force, he had bruises and was bleeding. Does this sound like a "collective" mind all working together in a scientific way?

For gods sake, the swimmers would let me watch them train, but wouldnt let the soviet weightlifting coaches watch the swimmers doing the damn powerclean, for fear they would let some secret out.

It was a bunch of people literally waiting in line for food, and knowing that anyone who was able to get their head above the crowd wouldnt have to wait in line. And they fought each other to get their heads above the crowd harder than they ever fought us.

Let me tell you something else about Russians... they are the most protective people on earth when it comes to kids. They would cover their collective eyes if they ever came to a youth little league game or hockey game here in the USA. Children are a treasure there. Its not at all like it is here. Anything that has the slightest chance to injure a kid is frowned upon.

Russian writers wrote about averages and wrote conjecture about what would happen in an ideal situation. That ideal situation was as rare in Russia as it is now in the good 'ole USA.

Now, I am on my 7th or 8th beer, not quite sure, and am going to stop this post. I know I havnt asnwered your question. If you want me to go on, please respond and I will continue tomorrow. If this is boring you, just tell me, and I will leave well enough alone.

Glenn

 

[al420]

If Glenn leaves I'm leaving...

 

[curgeo]

Glen, that is one of the most interesting stories I have ever seen posted on here. You can go on for as long as you like as I really enjoyed that. I was to supposed to have had the opportunity to train with Dr Mel Siff a couple of years ago....I had the plane tickets to fly out to Colorado...I got the tickets and found out that day that he had died. I really wanted to learn from him and hear his stories.

Thank you for that. Dude it's a pleasure learning from you on here. My friend Madcow speaks volumes about you. Thank you again.

 

[thesuaveone]

My oldest daughter (11 yrs old) has been a gymnast since she was 5. She has never picked up a weight, but has been lifting, pushing and pressing her own bw since the start. I have been thinking of taking her to the gym with me to see if she has any interest in hitting the weights.

I need to talk with her coach to make sure it won't throw a wrench into his training schedule, but it's really cool when she can do 20 bw pull ups with her legs in a seated position (has to keep a block on her lap to help her work on form), 50 pushups and can do body lifts where she can raise her butt up from a seated position then pull her legs through into a handstand then back for sets of 8 reps at a time.

 

[curgeo]

It really is amazing how children adapt not only to physical experiences, but mental and even cognitive. Children have the capability to learn as many languages that you can throw at them. It sure would be nice to have that ability.

My one year old (he turned 1 on Dec 23) saw me watching a college bowl game. When Texas scored I yelled "touchdown" and threw my hands up in the traditional goal post way and he looked at me, smiled and raised his hands the same way. He mimiced me and will now everytime I say Touchdown he throws his hands up in the air. I have pictures of him in my gallery that I am very proud of.

I believe that Bompa spoke about gymnasts specializing and hitting the pinnacle of their sport between 14 and 16 years of age.

For another great site that has info on specific sports, check out www.charliefrancis.com

I look forward to your reply Glen.