At the age of 13, bodybuilder and junior Jamie Dash stepped in the gym to lift weights for the first time. Dash, along with many high school athletes, began lifting free weights in middle school in order to get a step up from other high school athletes.

“I had been going to the gym ever since I was little, but the first time I picked up weights was seventh grade,” Dash said. “I honestly don’t think there is an age that is too young to begin lifting as long as you have someone intelligent about weightlifting with you.” 

According to American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), recent studies show that adolescents can begin to engage in weight training with limitations. ACSM states that within the last decade, weightlifting has become more and more popular for younger ages. Youth who are beginning to lift weights need to have professional supervision and an age-specific routine to follow. 

Kevin Wright, football team Head coach and weight coach, said he agrees with ACSM that youth should begin lifting weights while they are in the middle school level, but need to take precautions. Wright said beginning lifters should start out by developing core strength, speed and flexibility.  

“Strength training has to go along with flexibility and you have to have a base program in which you are building core strength. Research shows when there are injuries in younger athletes it is from lack of core strength,” Wright said.

For Dash, beginning weightlifting at a younger age has put him a step up from other athletes and bodybuilders. After taking part in competitions, Dash said he realized that it would have been more of a challenge for him to be successful if he began lifting in high school. He said lifting has helped him feel more confident and that lifitng has assisted with prevention of injuries. 

“I believe there are absolutely no negatives to being strong, unless your strength comes from an unstructured and unhealthy diet. It is very important to follow a strict diet and routine as a bodybuilder.” Dash said.

Both Dash and Wright agreed the competitive level of high school athletics would be altered if all athletes didn’t begin weight lifting until high school. Wright said waiting until freshman year to start weightlifting would cause many injuries now that athletes are competing more frequently these day between school and out of school teams. 

“With youth sports now a day you are playing so many games that you almost have to incorporate strength pieces so that when athletes get to high school they are prepared for the vigorous sports,” Wright said.

Dash said weightlifting in middle school was beneficial for him, but Jacob Abrams, sophomore and basketball player, said weightlifting before high school is the reason behind many youth injuries. 

Abrams began lifting his freshman year in the basketball preseason. Abrams said he never experienced any injuries while participating in middle school sports and that at this age your body is still developing and not ready for weights. 

“Lifting earlier would not have helped me because when you are younger your muscles are still developing. And if you lift while you aren’t fully developed, there is potential it can hurt your body,” said Abrams. “I wasn’t doing any strenuous lifts, so my body wasn’t being over worked.”

According to ACSM, weight lifting for children is more beneficial than hurtful. Dash agreed and said he was eager to begin lifting when he was in middle school. He feels he has benefited exceptionally from getting a step ahead of other athletes and that he has prevented many potential injuries he could have faced. 

“It’s not about how young you start. Dash said, It’s about how well you understand it.”