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The Arnold's Answer:
Interesting questions.
So far, the general advice above has been pretty good... Many doctors / trainers, believe that heavy resistance training under age 15 or so is not a very good thing.
So again, light weights, body-weight exercises are fine...
You mentioned taking him off the BB team b/c of grades - I understand completely - but there are other benefits of your son being active... It could be that the decline in academic performance was more related to the family stress / legal issues. Team sports at the Jr. High school level can do a lot for a kid: stress relief, burning off excess energy, discipline, teamwork, etc. You might consider letting him re-enroll in a spring sport, track & field, swimming, tennis - soccer, wrestling, etc, or if possible, one of my favorites: Martial arts.
Comments re: pushups, core strength exercises (crunches, etc) pull-ups, bodyweight squats, etc are all a-ok. regarding the bowflex - I say give it a try, supervise him, maybe work out with him, see how he likes it...if he sticks with it. just keep the resistance light, stress slow, controlled movements, form, form form. Again, you said his interests can change quickly - so don't invest a lot of money.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his "Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding" (pg 104 in my edition) says this:
"I don't like to see very young children lifting weights. Their bodies are too unformed, their bones still too soft, to stand up to the stresses of weight training.
"Preteen training in my opinion, should rely on lots of athletic activities to develop all of the bodies physical potentials, with the emphasis on calisthenics or gymnastic exercises rather than weight training - exercises that use body weight resistance such as Push-ups instead of Bench Presses, Knee bends instead of squats, and so on..."
"Once the body begins to mature, weight training can begin. I began at 15... It takes a few months, maybe a year, simply to learn the exercises and begin to understand the experience of training. Still, it is important during this phase to use light weights and keep reps relatively high."
Hope that helps!
By the way - you might have your own opinions about the Arnold's wisdom in running the state of Kalifornia, but I think his advice on weight training is pretty solid.
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