# What can you tell me about weight lifting? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 1, 2005, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-tell-me-about-weight-lifting/328847 "2005-11-01T03:05:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Adoptamom\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Adoptamom\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adoptamom_II)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-tell-me-about-weight-lifting/328847/1 "2005-11-01T03:05:06Z")
My 14 year old son is interested in getting weights and a punching bag for Christmas. He’s got a natural gymnast body and ability, doesn’t participate in any school or extra curricular sports, and is just interested in “buffing up” a bit in the comfort of his own home. We have around $200 to spend to get started. What do you recommend we start out with and why? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-tell-me-about-weight-lifting/328847/2 "2005-11-01T03:26:10Z")
Bench press (adjustable if you can find it), 45-pound bar, cambered (EZ) bar, and plates. Buy used if you can- it’s more cost-effective when starting out. Forget the punching bag- without instruction, it’ll teach bad form, and that’s the kind of thing you can’t unlearn without a lot of work. Buy him a speed bag if he wants to do work with his hands. Oh, and a copy of “The Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding.” I cannot recommend it enough. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-tell-me-about-weight-lifting/328847/3 "2005-11-01T08:48:55Z")
Isn’t a 45-pound bar a bit heavy for a 14-year-old beginner, even if he is a gymnast? ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-tell-me-about-weight-lifting/328847/4 "2005-11-01T10:42:30Z")
> [@Priceguy](#): > > Isn’t a 45-pound bar a bit heavy for a 14-year-old beginner, even if he is a gymnast? He could just press the bar. 22.5 a side doesn’t sound unreasonable. Does he have a gym at the school? He could work out there, saving your $200 for the food bill (because if he does get into lifting seriously - well, you’ll see). Tell him to sign up at [www.forum.bodybuilding.com](http://www.forum.bodybuilding.com) and read the newbie threads. It’ll save him a lot of time. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-tell-me-about-weight-lifting/328847/5 "2005-11-01T12:21:57Z")
> [@Priceguy](#): > > Isn’t a 45-pound bar a bit heavy for a 14-year-old beginner, even if he is a gymnast? If he is 14 yo, I imagine he weighs more than 45 lbs. Aren’t gymnast supposed to be able to lift their own bodyweight? 45 lbs should be nothing. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-tell-me-about-weight-lifting/328847/6 "2005-11-01T13:43:05Z")
Go over to [http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/index.php](http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/index.php), print out the relevant newbie areas, ignoring all the girly stuff, and have him commit to memory. It’s accurate, concise and refreshingly free of bullshit. It’s also, more importantly, not a site that’s aimed at selling you stuff and devoid of the usual macho crap. Other than that, if you think a 45 lb olympic bar is too heavy, get a couple of spinlock dumbell bars–they’ll last you a lifetime, plus you can reload them with different plate totals as your kid gets stronger. Although, if he is a gymnast, I doubt he’ll have problems lugging around a 45 lb bar. All the gymnasts I’ve known were freakishly strong for their size. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-tell-me-about-weight-lifting/328847/7 "2005-11-01T15:14:04Z")
> [@slortar](#): > > Go over to [http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/index.php](http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/index.php), print out the relevant newbie areas, ignoring all the girly stuff, and have him commit to memory. This is good advice. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-tell-me-about-weight-lifting/328847/8 "2005-11-01T16:35:12Z")
If it was me I would get him a flat bench (very basic, incline would be nice,[like this](http://www.healthstylesexercise.com/images/shopping-cart/2690_Nautilus_FlatBench_lg.jpg) ) and a few sets of dumbells. A pair of 15lbs., a pair of 20lbs, 25s, 30s, 35s, and 40s. Not a huge investment and doesn’t take up a lot of space yet very versatile.