My 11 year old son started wrestling this year for the first time. He isn’t great but he really enjoys it. He is tall and very skinny for his age. In his weight class, every boy he wrestles is shorter and more muscular.
Does weight training before puberty help build muscle, or is mostly skill development at this point?
I’m not planning on him lifting six hours a week, but they do one day of weight training a week for wrestling practice, which at this point is mostly wall sits and back squats. But he enjoys that too. I was thinking of having him do goblet squats and some overhead presses a couple times a week if he wants with the modest equipment I have at home.
I recognize weight training at this age is healthy and low risk, I’m just wondering if they can gain much strength at this age.
Yes, pre-pubertal kiddos can gain strength (and a bit of muscle). I think it would great for him to get exposed to resistance training, albeit not in a super rigid way
