[young_gun]

I'm 14 going on 15 and around 5'3 or 5'4 and as you can see I am not very tall and I heard that weight training would stunt your growth so I was wondering if you could include information on anything that would give me the same muscle without the damage to my body because my football coach is really into lifting but I don't want to stay the same height that I am now because I want to be nice and built for my time in high school and also I was wondering if there was anyhting I could do to get a little taller p.s my parents are almost as short as me

[dave5150]

Moderate amounts of weight training shouldn't cause any damage as long as you don't overdo it. Good luck.

[desii]

Naw I heard that it doesn't cause stunt growht, its just like a myth... just a few words of adicce ( me being same age and all) don't over do it, don't put weights on your sholder ( I think that stunts growth) do all the machines and free weights correctly, don't work out with torn or borken muscle, and when you bench ALWAYS ALWAYS make sure some 1 is spoting u. no matter how much your lifting. And make sure that person is paying attention and isn't some <expletive>... I have had wieghts fall on my friend and he wasn't too happy. And it hurts
So yah
Peace

[sdunne00]

Its all a myth. I was the same height as you at your age and I'm now 6'1(28yr old). Both my parents are under 5'5. Ive trained with weights since I was 15.

[Hammdy]

ITS ALL A MYTH , The whole notion of growth being stunted by bodybuilding training is a myth that I have been fighting for years. In conversations with my grandfather who used to be an Orthopedic Surgeon graduated from Northwestern University with top honors, I learned that as long as the resistance is not so high that it would cause the bones to become more dense and thus close the epiphysis (the growth area of a long bone) then there should not be any detrimental effects.

As a matter of fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics recently changed their policy (PEDIATRICS Vol. 107 No. 6 June 2001, pp. 1470-1472) regarding this topic by stating that "strength training programs do not seem to adversely affect linear growth and do not seem to have any long-term detrimental effect on cardiovascular health" as evidenced in recent studies.

I should also point out that the compression forces on your legs and spine are far greater in running and jumping than they will ever be in a bodybuilding exercise like squatting. Compression forces in running and jumping can exceed 5 times your bodyweight. If you're not squatting over 700 pounds, he's generating greater compression in normal daily activities.

[kp2171]

The only thing I have to add after that post by hammdy is to reread it again. A great post.