When Should My Child Start Strength Training? | SiSU Training Academy
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Every week I speak with parents who ask me some version of the same question. Sometimes it's direct: "Is my kid too young for this?" Sometimes it arrives wrapped in a worry: "I've heard it can stunt their growth." And sometimes it's just a hesitant pause before they say, "I'm not sure if now is the right time."
I understand all of it. And I want to give you an honest answer — not a sales pitch.
Let's deal with the big fear first: will strength training stunt my child's growth?
No. There is no conclusive evidence in any peer-reviewed study that properly supervised strength training stunts growth in children or adolescents. This myth has been thoroughly examined and repeatedly dismissed by sports science research, including position statements from the American College of Sports Medicine and the National Strength and Conditioning Association, both of which affirm that youth resistance training is not only safe but genuinely beneficial when programmed correctly.
What is worth understanding is what happens inside a growing body — because that changes how training should be designed.
During periods of rapid growth, bones lengthen first. The muscles, tendons and ligaments that attach to those bones then play catch-up. This is why growing kids often experience tightness and soreness that gets lumped under the broad label of "growing pains." It's not dangerous — it's biology. But it does mean that a well-designed program needs to support that process, not ignore it.
In my sessions, this means we spend real time on the things most programs skip: education about the body, intentional warm-ups, foam rolling, stretching, and recovery work. When young athletes understand why they're doing these things — when it connects to how they feel and perform — they don't resist it. They actually look forward to it.
So when is the right time to start?
The honest answer is: earlier than most parents think, and it's less about age than it is about readiness.
I work with athletes from age 10, and here's why that makes sense. By the time a child reaches 10, they've typically spent a decade building a basic physical foundation through play, sport and movement. That foundation is ready to be developed intentionally. Starting at this age means we can teach the body the right mechanics early — how to sprint efficiently, decelerate safely, jump and land with control. These are skills that compound over time.
That said, "ready" doesn't mean the same thing for every kid. A 14 or 15-year-old who's starting to compete against bigger, stronger bodies is equally ready — and often arrives with strong motivation. The entry point I use for a 10-year-old and a 15-year-old is actually the same foundational program. What changes after those first 10 weeks is the rate of progression. An older athlete's muscles, tendons and ligaments can handle greater load sooner. But both start in the same place: learning control before power.
Research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that youth resistance training reduces sports injury risk by up to 68% — not by making kids bulletproof, but by building the connective tissue strength that protects joints under load. That alone is a compelling reason not to wait.
What most people don't realise about connective tissue — and why it matters more than muscle
Most conversations about strength training focus on muscles. But in my experience, the real foundation of athletic performance is what connects everything together: tendons (which connect muscle to bone) and ligaments (which connect bone to bone and literally hold your joints in place).
I explain it to parents this way. Imagine hanging from a tree branch. If the thing connecting you to that branch is a towel, how long does that hold? What if it's a rope? What if it's a chain?
Building muscle on top of weak connective tissue is like hanging a heavy load from a towel. It won't hold. It won't transfer force efficiently. And it won't protect the athlete when things get intense.
This is why the first phase of my 10-week program isn't about lifting heavy. It's about tempo training — slow, controlled movements at a 3:2:1 count — followed by isometric holds, where the athlete maintains position under load. These two phases specifically target the nervous system's ability to send precise, intentional signals to muscles and connective tissue. We are, in the most literal sense, upgrading from towel to rope before we add serious weight to the bar.
Only then — once that foundation is built — do we move into heavy compound lifts, speed and power work, and combined movements. Each phase earns the right to the next.
The thing I wish every parent knew before their child's first session
Parents usually come to me thinking about the physical benefits. More speed. Better jumping. Fewer injuries. All of that is real and measurable — I test every athlete at the start and end of every program so families can see exactly what changed.
But what I wish more parents anticipated is what happens to their child's mind.
In the gym, we train close to failure on purpose. That last rep — the one that's genuinely hard, the one where you're not sure you'll make it — is where the adaptation happens. Rep 8 is where SiSU starts. And what young athletes learn in that moment, session after session, is that discomfort is not a signal to stop. It's a signal that something is changing.
Winners and those who fall short have one thing in common: they've both experienced failure. The difference is what they do next. The gym teaches kids — in a controlled, supportive environment — to get back up. To try the heavy thing again. To be curious about why it was hard rather than ashamed that it was.
Parents come in thinking their child will get stronger legs. They leave telling me their child is different in the classroom, in the locker room, in how they carry themselves.
What you're actually risking by waiting
I've sat across from enough parents to know that hesitation is usually well-intentioned. They want to be sure. They don't want to push too hard.
But here's what I've seen when kids wait — especially those who start at 15 or 16 rather than 10 or 12. They delay what I call the breakout moment.
Every coach I've ever spoken to describes it the same way. One day, something shifts. The athlete suddenly understands where they fit — in the team, in the game, in their age group. They recognise their strengths and lean into them. They see their weaknesses clearly but feel motivated to work on them rather than defeated by them. They stop looking sideways at other kids and start getting genuinely excited about the gap between who they were yesterday and who they are today.
That moment isn't created by one training session. It's built, rep by rep, over months of intentional work. Every week you wait is a week that process hasn't started yet.
Ready to find out if now is the right time for your athlete?
I offer a free 15-minute consult — no obligation, no upsell. We'll talk about where your child is at, what they're working toward, and whether SiSU is the right fit. If it's not, I'll tell you that too.
Ben Plowman is an Exercise Science graduate, certified personal trainer, and founder of SiSU Training Academy. He is Head Coach at Balwyn Blazers, Head of S&C at Hawthorn Magic, and co-owner of Grouse Fitness. He works with athletes aged 10–20 in Hawthorn East, Melbourne.