Class is in session. You're listening to Squat University by Dr. Aaron Horshick.

Let's go! Now, let's start the show.

Podcast listeners, what's up? I hope you all are having a great day so far. Thank you so much for checking out today's show. This is episode 19 of the Squawy University podcast. The goal with each and every one of these shows is to bring

you as much value-packed content to help you move better in the gym and in life, decrease your

body's aches and pains and help you reach your true athletic potential. Now in today's show,

we're going to switch gears a little bit from talking about mobility and stability like we have the past few weeks and discuss the topic of youth weight training and youth weightlifting specifically whether or not it is safe.

Now, this is something I've gotten a ton of questions over the past couple of years.

So hopefully the content in today's podcast will be valuable

for you either as a parent of a youngster that's looking to start them in weightlifting or

jumping them into a CrossFit kids class or even if you're not a parent yet, but you are a coach.

Hopefully this information will be still very valuable for you. So the title of today's class, I guess therefore, will be, is youth weightlifting safe?

Now, in recent years, there has been a growing number of children participating in youth weightlifting

programs all across the world.

However, the subject of youth athletes lifting weights is still fairly controversial.

As a parent or coach, it can be very easy to become overwhelmed with the number of opinions

circulating on this topic. Now, oftentimes the media today condemns the use of barbell training

for young children. I'm sure almost everyone has heard the line before.

Lifting weights at a young age will stunt your growth. Sound familiar? Every time I see a post on

Instagram or on Facebook where there's a young athlete that's lifting a big whip, I check the

comments and almost every single time there's going to be a post under those comments where someone is saying that this athlete is going to have a fractured growth plate.

They're going to stunt their growth because they're lifting this weight at such a young age.

Now, in the same comment thread, there's also going to be people that says that this barbell training is completely safe as long as good

...