Teen training too hard
 

Have there been any studies done of 13 year old cyclists training too hard? Doing 100 mile plus rides with 2-3 mile hills with a 7-9 percent grade? Can anyone point me to some studies. I know a kid who does this kind of training frequently. He is very intense and self motivated. No one is pressuring him. Before he became a cyclist he was the say way running cross country. Extremely competitive in everything. I am concerned. Should I? His parents are in awe of his accomplishments....

if the parents and kid are ok with it you should stay out of it

​​​​​​​and 100 miles on a bike for a teen is no biggie in my opinion

13 is a little young, but kids are different. When I was running I trained with a lot of kids not a lot older. A bunch of them went down to the states on athletics scholarships, almost all of them ran in university in Canada if not.
From training with those kids, other than injuries from doing too much fast running ( or their slow running too fast), nothing to be worried about.

Kids that age should still be doing multiple sports though.

I was looking for any scientific studies done on such a young age. I know folks have opinions...I really don't.

Maybe the kid is naturally gifted and talented to be a future endurance athlete ??... if you're not one of his parents, then stay out of it and mind your own business. Scientific studies are useless because some people can be a genetic anomaly and can do things which others can't.

​​​​​​​yeah you do, your opinion is that he is over doing it. are you related or close friends of these people?

I was doing 100 mile rides before I was 13...

It might sound like what he is doing is hard, I thought so when I was young. But 10 years later I was in the Army, and I had to redefine my definition of what a "hard" day was. I volunteered for an "elite" unit in the Army, and the very first day of training was the hardest day of my entire life, and I had already been through basic training and parachute school.

nope. You should not intervene unless you are going to support what they like to do in some positive manner that the child & folks will accept of.

mdadams- "I am concerned"

you sure you don't have an opinion?

Sorry OP, they just can't help themselves. I guess people still think it's cool to try to turn a thread around on the OP like it was back when forums first started gaining traction. I get what you were asking. You were airing out a curiosity, not looking to jump into the middle of somebody's business. Sorry I don't have an answer for you, but I have read that heavy weightlifting at a young age can cause complications.

Given the low-impact of cycling, I really don't see that it is likely that he is doing damage. When I was his age, I was running 50-60 miles per week, and I have survived for over a half century after that (and can still cycle 100 mile per week without adverse consequences).

Relax.

Mark

I would say he is doing well. If he isn't well he would be unable to achieve his goal for the day. If the task is causing him pain someone should step in and coach him. Does he have a coach.??

And no, I haven't read any surveys or data of your original question, OP. Sorry.

I did see a news article about a study relating to lower bone density in young pro or pro aspirational cyclists who didn't do much activity involving impact. I couldn't find it, so related .y experience training with a coach who trained many successful young runners.

When I said I do not have an opinion I should have said an expert opinion.....I was thinking long term harm. I have running friends who have AFIB that were tremendous athletes who pushed themselves to the extreme for long periods of time while growing up. I always wonder about the correlation. And this will be my last post I do not want to incite or irritate folks on this forum.

nutrition plays a big factor to down the road health. If recovery cannot take place b/c they are relying on supplements to do the heeling b/c they are consuming arby's day in & day out drinking redbull & chocolate milk, then they might not have the greatest adult life if & when that takes place.

I am sure we all didnt mean to offend or cause you any rage on this forum, but if you feel logging off makes you a better person; do what you must do.

Such as sitting in their basement all day and playing video games or getting stoned with drugs.

Eh, I started riding centuries at age 13ish.

If anything, it helped with joint problems I have from being born with a club foot.

So not a study, but just a informed anecdote.

You won't find studies on CYCLING, because that is too small of a field of study, but you can find lots of studies on sports in general. They generally focus on injuries, which in sports like American football which happen more frequently than cycling. Heck, you expected to hit your head on EVERY play in football, not just in a crash!

This. At 13 he's too young to be that intense. My philosophy is you're only a kid once, so you need to be spontaneous and do the things normal kids do. Although there's nothing wrong with him developing focus (I did), but he should at least have other things to occupy his time and attention.

As OP, you can request the thread be closed, by using the "Report" button to alert the moderators.

Don't worry, we're quite capable of getting irritated about anything, without assistance :D

lol I don't feel you incited or irritated anyone. Sorry if my responses sounded like that

I am quite sure that there are no studies on 13 year olds and high mileage cycling because I mean, they don't do it. This kid must be 1 in a million or more

the studies I've seen on youth sports mostly conclude that kids should do a variety of things to avoid over use injuries, in particular throwing a baseball over and over year after year. Kids often specialize their athletics even at a young age, especially baseball

year round tackle football? should probably be avoided because the brain can only take so many impacts

the thing that happens with a lot of kids that over do any activity is they burn out and don't reach the level their parents want for them

this kid cycling 100 miles at a time in my world is un heard of

as to what causes AFIB, it would be awesome to know that:) Is it developed by the activities that one engages in or is it genetic, or and this is likely, a combination of both

​​​​​​​anyway no hard feelings

Mental burnout is more of an issue, IMO.
I wonder what his motivation is for doing so much ? Does he have specific goals ?