Muscle Building for Teenagers

I took my first weight lifting class in my junior year of high school, and I was instantly hooked. I loved working out, and could not wait to start building pounds of new muscle. When I look back on those days now I am aware of a laundry list of mistakes that I was making that greatly reduced the progress I could have made.

When I see teenagers training at the gym now, many of them are making the same mistakes I made 20 years ago, and I usually go out of my way to help them improve their technique and optimize their training programs. In this article I will share some valuable tips to help teenagers build muscle the right way.

Keep it Simple

When I was in high school I tried to perform the routines I read about in Muscle & Fitness magazines the ones professional bodybuilders were using. I did not know at the time that these bodybuilders were using copious amounts of anabolic steroids, and that the routines they performed were inappropriate for a 16 year old kid training naturally. If I had it to do over again I would stick to basic exercises like:

Bench PressOverhead PressDeadliftBarbell RowsSquats

I would train five days per week and take two days off, and my goal would be to slowly but steadily get stronger on these basic lifts. There is no need to do anything fancy, it is the simple stuff that works especially for beginners.

Eat for Success

I did not yet understand this when I was 16, but nutrition is the key to building muscle even more so that weight training. It took me several years to figure this out, and when I did my gains went through the roof. Teenagers are notorious for eating terrible diets; lots of fast food, junk food, and inadequate nutrients. This sort of undisciplined eating will sabotage your muscle building as well as your health, and will have you literally wasting your time in the gym.

To gain muscle you have to eat adequate amounts of protein, healthy fats, and carbohydrates. If you are living on Taco Bell, Pizza and Oreos you will not be able to develop the muscular physique you are after.

Consistency is Key

Building muscle takes time it will not happen overnight. It takes a consistent effort, month after month, both in the gym and at the dinner table. Many teenagers have a hard time sticking to their routine week in and week out for months at a time but this is exactly what it takes to pack on appreciable amounts of muscle mass.

It is important to get your weight training and nutrition plans dialed in and stay consistent on both fronts. The guys who can do this will experience steady muscle growth, while those who are on and off will merely be treading water, and will be lucky to make any gains at all.

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