BODYBUILDING AND CHILDREN.

Too often we hear that bodybuilding is not good for kids. That it prevents growth, that it’s bad for growth cartilages and would therefore better be avoided. Many gyms don’t accept children under 18 years old. Yet, what is bodybuilding, if not muscle training. And children muscles need to progress even more than those of adults.

Some sports have a good reputation, such as football, sports gymnastics, athletics ... In these sports, the exercises are mostly explosive exercises, in which strength is transmitted to the body by a power not always controllable. The tendons and joints therefore take a lot and regularly develop trauma such as Osgood-Schlatter disease. It is the repetition of micro-traumas that causes this inflammation in the growth cartilages of the knee. This often happens to young footballers but in other sports too.

Gymnasts aiming at an international level must start very early. It is not uncommon to see international gymnasts aged 14 or younger among girls, slightly older when it comes to boys. By looking at them, we can’t say that large size are legion. Nevertheless, we can still ask the question: "Is it gymnastics that prevents their growth, or is it absolutely necessary to be a small size to reach an international level?” This is a good question, but it is difficult to comment on the subject.

In bodybuilding, it's even more difficult, because it is not a sport where we find a lot of young people. The main reasons are surely because they are not accepted in many gyms, and also because young people tend to quit easily. Indeed, even if they want to build muscle, their testosterone can’t stimulate their muscle growth before puberty. And if you want to get muscle and you do everything you can during training but still can’t achieve the same result as adults, it can often discourage you.

On the other hand, there is no limit to the growth of young people who start early. On the contrary, for young people who have problems with muscle tone or deformity such as scoliosis, bodybuilding will do them a great good.

What should be avoided, however, are the excessive loads that can be dangerous for cartilage not yet formed, but which are also dangerous for adults.

In conclusion, if you stay reasonable, bodybuilding will do you good regardless of your age. If you exaggerate, any sport will hurt you.