Need a New Workout Routine! 14 Years Old!

Hey guys thanks for taking the time to view this Thread. Well to start off a little bit of info about me. I actually have a nice Workout base. You could call me semi-athletic:cheeky: I have very good Stamina, my mile time is a decent 6:30. Im more of a sprinter though. Im 5'4"-5"5 in tall, and weigh around 135 pounds. I also have a decent lifting base, i can bench around 150-160 pounds. But anyways im looking to get more serious into Working out. My goal is to get more toned and Big. I have weight machines available to use. So what i want to know is a What days of the week i should work out and what should i do? I also want some nutrition information on what i should eat, and what i should avoid. Ex. Protein bars good at my age or not? And my Biggest question is, will working out this early stop growth as i am pretty worried about stunting or stopping my growth.

So if you could lay out a workout routine for me that would be awesome. And advice and tips are also appreciated.

Thanks People!
 
I'm sceptical about the strength you claim to have at 14, but it's not completely unheard of, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

Now, assuming that you're not involved in any sport outside of the gym, you should be training 3-4 days per week. If training 3 days/week, they should all be non-consecutive days (eg Mon/Wed/Fri), If training 4 days/week, Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri is usually good. In the latter case, I recommend an upper/lower split, so you're training the upper and lower body twice per week. The 3 day/week method can actually result in faster progress due to having three chances each week to increase the weight you're lifting and stimulating growth in each bodypart 3x/week rather than only 2x/week.

One of the best routines out there for teenagers wanting to build strength and size is Rippetoe's Starting Strength - but you'll have to eat a LOT to do the program properly, so you won't be "toned" when you've exhausted the program, and you'll then need to do something else to maintain strength and muscle mass while getting rid of any excess fat.

Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 has a much slower progression, but you will get strong on it, you will get big if you eat, and you will get "toned" (ie have muscle mass with low bodyfat) without interrupting the program much if you reduce calorie intake. When the program gets boring after 3+ months, just change the assistance exercises.

I recommend buying Starting Strength and 5/3/1 if you can, even if you don't use the programs, because they'll give you the best instruction on how to do each exercise CORRECTLY and will really help you learn how to add/subtract things from your program as necessary.

As far as stunting your growth is concerned, this is mostly associated with epiphyseal plate injuries. Train with good technique, don't lift with your ego, use a good, balanced program, avoid maxing out on a set, eat and recovery properly, and this is unlikely to be an issue. When I was a teenager, I did none of the above once I started training, and I stopped growing a couple inches short of where I think I was supposed to grow to. You've gotta eat; you've gotta train sensibly. This may mean that you DON'T get a totally cut look as a teen. Try to keep your bodyfat% below 18% and above 12%, and you'll have some "tone" but you should also be able to keep on growing normally.

Regarding food, to gain weight, consume 500Cal/day more than what you need to maintain weight. To lose weight, 500Cal/day less than maintenance. Since you say you want to get big, I'd start out aiming for 3,000Cal/day (eg 6 meals/day, 500Cal in each). Also aim to consume 30g protein in each meal, targeting at least your bodyweight in g's of protein/day (ie at 135lb, aim for 135g protein/day, at 180lb, aim for 180g protein/day). Eat meat, eggs, lots of vegetables, fruit, and grains (eg bread, rice, pasta). Drink milk and fresh fruit juice. Avoid things with preservatives and artificial sweetners in them. In other words, eat healthy, wholesome, natural foods, and eat lots of them.
 
Wow, thanks for the advice exaclty the type of answers i was looking for. So basically dont stop eating is what your saying right? Will do, ill check those programs out soon. And i actually can bench 150 :cheeky:
 
I just realized that i haven't been much attention to my lower body, other than running sprints and laps, and other exercises that anyone recommends for lower body? Would running sprints just cut it for lower body workout?
 
Yes, eat. Then eat some more. Then eat some more after that. Food is good for you.

I doubt sprinting will cut it for lower body work. At least once a week you should be doing some heavy resistance training for the lower body. Starting Strength has you squatting 3x/week, and alternating between power cleans and deadlifts every time you train. 5/3/1 has you squatting and deadlifting each once a week, on seperate days. Squats are pretty much the king of lower body exercises. Lunges and leg presses are also good for the quads, and deadlifts will even out the entire posterior chain, including the glutes and hamstrings.
 
Ok awesome, i think ill add in some squats and lunges to my program. Ill definitely keep eating too. Thanks for answering my questions and giving me advice man, its a big help.
 
Ok, well atm i dont have the equipment for power cleans and deadlifts and such, and i cant really buy those programs right now. So im trying to develop a program right now. Here's what i have so far.

Monday:
3 Sets of 30 Pushups.
20 Pullups in sets of five.
Machine Chest Press 3 sets of 80.
Do some Sprints.
Abs routine.

Wednesday:
3 Sets 30 Pushups
20 Pullups in sets of 5.
Machine Chest Press 80 for 30 sets.
Do Bodyweight Squats/Lunges
Abs Routine

Friday:
Same upper body workout.
Squats, Jumps, and sprints.
Abs Routine.

Not very sure if this is Good Program or not since i dont have much equipment i could use except for the chest press machine. Dont have any free weights, never worked with free weights. So basically i have a full body workout M/W/F. Any critque or tips are appreciated. Plus for the number of squats and such i dont really know how many to do, so please provide some info if you can. If full body workouts are not working out for me ill post. But for now this is all i have. Thanks people.
 
Right. It's always tricky when there's no equipment available.

For your upper body work, I'd do 1 pull up for every rep of chest press, and 1 pull up for every 3 reps of push ups, to even things out around the shoulders.

For lower body, bodyweight squats and lunges are a good start. Variations of jumping and plyometric squats are good, too. But the sooner you can get some equipment to add resistance to lower body work, the better, as your legs move your bodyweight all day, so bodyweight exercises with legs get real easy real quick. If you can anchor your feet down and do some variation of a hyperextension or glute-ham raise, that'll be a good thing to try and add to your program (if possible). You can try deadlifting bricks, bags full of textbooks, the couch, heavy ceramic pot plants, etc.

On the whole, what you're doing will be enough to get you started, but the sooner you can invest in a gym membership or some good freeweight equipment, the better.
 
135 lbs and he's benching 150 doesn't seem out of the norm at all, to me. I always laughed at people who were so excited when they could finally bench their own bodyweight. Why??? That seems pretty average/normal to me.

This kid will be benching 185 by the end of the summer if he sticks with the workout and gets enough good food and rest. Guaranteed. Just work your way up and don't do anything crazy. :)
 
Will do man, ill try to keep posted. I plan to sleep like 10 hours a day during the summer, i really want to grow tall also. Plus i wana get in shape for track next year, so this is a plus for me. Thanks for the support guys.
 
Don't let lack of equipment limit you. you'd be amazed how much you can rely on body weight exercises. In fact, there are benefits that you cant get from equipment. If you look through youtube you might find a lot of exercises that you never thought of before. Look for Matt Furey videos.
 
Don't let lack of equipment limit you. you'd be amazed how much you can rely on body weight exercises. In fact, there are benefits that you cant get from equipment. If you look through youtube you might find a lot of exercises that you never thought of before. Look for Matt Furey videos.

Awesome, will do.
 
Awesome, I'm curous what does it consist of?


Monday:
3 Sets of 30 Pushups.
20 Pullups in sets of five.
Machine Chest Press 3 sets of 80.
Do some Sprints.
Abs routine.

Wednesday:
3 Sets 30 Pushups
20 Pullups in sets of 5.
Machine Chest Press 80 for 30 sets.
Do Bodyweight Squats/Lunges
Abs Routine

Friday:
Same upper body workout.
Squats, Jumps, and sprints.
Abs Routine.

Right here. Haha.
 
Monday:
3 Sets of 30 Pushups.
20 Pullups in sets of five.
Machine Chest Press 3 sets of 80.
Do some Sprints.
Abs routine.

Wednesday:
3 Sets 30 Pushups
20 Pullups in sets of 5.
Machine Chest Press 80 for 30 sets.
Do Bodyweight Squats/Lunges
Abs Routine

Friday:
Same upper body workout.
Squats, Jumps, and sprints.
Abs Routine.

Right here. Haha.

Very nice.
 
Haha thanks man, its working pretty good, im getting pretty sore from it. Trying to keep my diet pretty good. But hey just thought of a question, "Is it ok if i drink 2% fat milk? or no?" because i do drink it alot.
 
Depends. How much is alot? As long as your getting actual fluids. Milk doesn't actually count as fluid because of it's viscosity. You cant hydrate on it
 
About 3-4 glasses a day, i do drink water too so. Just trying to keep my diet in line.

Thats fine. As long as you don't exercise on it. I mean, it can compromise you if you feel bloated or sluggish because your still digesting milk while working out.
 
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