From time to time, I see people at the gym who will look at me in astonishment that I am not using a spotter. People often ask, “Hey Bro … You need a spot.” I always appreciate the offers for help but, the reality is I never push myself past my limit and I never train to failure. Now, I know that I am going against conventional bro-science dogma but, the reality is that training to failure is not the best way to lift (all of the time).

This goes double for your little athlete that your helping (whether it is your son, daughter or whomever). Whether, you want the little man (or lady) to play a sport, build muscle or to be a future UFC champion, training to failure and training with too much weight may  lead to lack-luster results or even injury.

Now, I know that plenty of people are going to call me a wuss. Moreover, there are those who would propose that I am teaching kids to be wussies by telling them not to train to failure. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but you aren’t entitled to your own set of facts. The fact is a 10 year old that I train, lifts every single day. He can bench and squat his own weight in excess of ten times for multiple sets and never get overtrained. Why, because I have carefully calculated how much weight we must use to stimulate growth without causing CNS burnout.

In other words, when you train your athlete too hard and too often, they become overtrained. The symptoms of overtraining include: constant muscle soreness, weight loss, inability to sleep at night, being exhausted during the day and constantly being sick (cold or pneumonia symptoms). In some cases people suffer from Rhabdomyolysis, which is a dangerous breaking down of muscle tissue that is often accompanied with dark or bloody urine and hospitalization. So, it is important that everyone be aware that you can train to much and that doing so will not get you buff, it will impede your progress or the progress of your little athlete.

To avoid this predicament I believe that over the course of 12 weeks you should be working with what I refer to as a safe “training weight.” You get this training weight by taking 50% of your 1 rep max (Yep, that’s all) and plugging it into a program of varied rep ranges. So even on low rep days, you do not increase the weight. On high rep days, you do not decrease the weight, unless you are incapable of recovering for the next set. You will also have to limit recovery times. Rest intervals should be between 30 seconds and 1 minute 30 seconds. So no, you don’t have time to stand around talking, so tell the gym gossip to get the hell out of your face. YOU’VE GOT WORK TO DO.

After 12 weeks, you can then add 5lbs to the bar (if your child is between 5 and 14) otherwise add 10lbs (if you are 14 and over). For the specifics on the rep scheme and interval times go to iTunes and get the Fast Functional Fitness Workout App. These are the rep schemes that I use for the youth athlete that I train.

Good Luck