Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > General Cycling Discussion
Reload this Page >

Teen training too hard

Notices
General Cycling Discussion Have a cycling related question or comment that doesn't fit in one of the other specialty forums? Drop on in and post in here! When possible, please select the forum above that most fits your post!

Teen training too hard

Old 09-29-18, 03:25 PM
  #1  
mdadams1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 147
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 66 Post(s)
Liked 8 Times in 4 Posts
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....
mdadams1 is offline  
Old 09-29-18, 05:18 PM
  #2  
Flip Flop Rider
Senior Member
 
Flip Flop Rider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: South Carolina Upstate
Posts: 2,103

Bikes: 2010 Fuji Absolute 3.0 1994 Trek 850

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 761 Post(s)
Liked 553 Times in 320 Posts
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
Flip Flop Rider is offline  
Old 09-29-18, 05:35 PM
  #3  
Viich
Hack
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,251

Bikes: TrueNorth CX bike, 88 Bianchi Strada (currently Sturmey'd), 90's Giant Innova (now with drop bars), Yess World Cup race BMX, Redline Proline Pro24 race BMX Cruiser

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 343 Post(s)
Liked 181 Times in 127 Posts
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.
Viich is offline  
Old 09-29-18, 05:46 PM
  #4  
mdadams1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 147
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 66 Post(s)
Liked 8 Times in 4 Posts
I was looking for any scientific studies done on such a young age. I know folks have opinions...I really don't.
mdadams1 is offline  
Old 09-29-18, 05:54 PM
  #5  
wolfchild
Banned
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Mississauga/Toronto, Ontario canada
Posts: 8,721

Bikes: I have 3 singlespeed/fixed gear bikes

Mentioned: 30 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4227 Post(s)
Liked 2,488 Times in 1,286 Posts
Originally Posted by mdadams1
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....
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.
wolfchild is offline  
Old 09-29-18, 06:04 PM
  #6  
Flip Flop Rider
Senior Member
 
Flip Flop Rider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: South Carolina Upstate
Posts: 2,103

Bikes: 2010 Fuji Absolute 3.0 1994 Trek 850

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 761 Post(s)
Liked 553 Times in 320 Posts
Originally Posted by mdadams1
I was looking for any scientific studies done on such a young age. I know folks have opinions...I really don't.
​​​​​​​yeah you do, your opinion is that he is over doing it. are you related or close friends of these people?
Flip Flop Rider is offline  
Old 09-29-18, 06:37 PM
  #7  
50PlusCycling
Senior Member
 
50PlusCycling's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 1,079
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 526 Post(s)
Liked 721 Times in 379 Posts
Originally Posted by mdadams1
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....
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.
50PlusCycling is offline  
Old 09-29-18, 06:58 PM
  #8  
Troul 
Senior Member
 
Troul's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Mich
Posts: 7,291

Bikes: RSO E-tire dropper fixie brifter

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Liked 2,909 Times in 1,884 Posts
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.
__________________
-Oh Hey!
Troul is offline  
Old 09-29-18, 07:04 PM
  #9  
mstateglfr 
Sunshine
 
mstateglfr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 16,531

Bikes: '18 class built steel roadbike, '19 Fairlight Secan, '88 Schwinn Premis , Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross V4, '89 Novara Trionfo

Mentioned: 123 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10897 Post(s)
Liked 7,384 Times in 4,144 Posts
Originally Posted by mdadams1
I was looking for any scientific studies done on such a young age. I know folks have opinions...I really don't.
mdadams- "I am concerned"

you sure you don't have an opinion?
mstateglfr is offline  
Old 09-29-18, 08:13 PM
  #10  
mdadams1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 147
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 66 Post(s)
Liked 8 Times in 4 Posts
I withdraw the question...ugh i just wanted some info. No intention to interfere. wow. Can a question be deleted?
mdadams1 is offline  
Old 09-29-18, 08:17 PM
  #11  
Paul Barnard
For The Fun of It
 
Paul Barnard's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Louisissippi Coast
Posts: 5,843

Bikes: Lynskey GR300, Lynskey Backroad, Litespeed T6, Lynskey MT29, Burley Duet

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2131 Post(s)
Liked 1,639 Times in 822 Posts
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.

Last edited by Paul Barnard; 09-30-18 at 05:48 AM.
Paul Barnard is offline  
Old 09-29-18, 08:18 PM
  #12  
124Spider
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Seattle, Washington, USA
Posts: 315

Bikes: 2016 Cervelo R3 2018 Rodriguez Tandem

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 127 Post(s)
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
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
124Spider is offline  
Old 09-29-18, 08:38 PM
  #13  
sdmc530
Heft On Wheels
 
sdmc530's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: South Dakota
Posts: 3,124

Bikes: Specialized,Cannondale,Argon 18

Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 887 Post(s)
Liked 560 Times in 346 Posts
Originally Posted by Flip Flop Rider
if the parents and kid are ok with it you should stay out of it

​​​​​​​My my opinion is this is very sound advise. But it’s just my opinion, and I usually don’t have one except for this one
sdmc530 is offline  
Old 09-29-18, 09:12 PM
  #14  
BirdsBikeBinocs
Senior Member
 
BirdsBikeBinocs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Mars Hotel
Posts: 472

Bikes: Giant Talon 29 - Specialized Diverge E5 Comp

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 283 Post(s)
Liked 45 Times in 33 Posts
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.
BirdsBikeBinocs is offline  
Old 09-30-18, 05:17 AM
  #15  
Viich
Hack
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,251

Bikes: TrueNorth CX bike, 88 Bianchi Strada (currently Sturmey'd), 90's Giant Innova (now with drop bars), Yess World Cup race BMX, Redline Proline Pro24 race BMX Cruiser

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 343 Post(s)
Liked 181 Times in 127 Posts
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.
Viich is offline  
Old 09-30-18, 05:33 AM
  #16  
mdadams1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 147
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 66 Post(s)
Liked 8 Times in 4 Posts
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.
mdadams1 is offline  
Old 09-30-18, 05:40 AM
  #17  
Troul 
Senior Member
 
Troul's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Mich
Posts: 7,291

Bikes: RSO E-tire dropper fixie brifter

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Liked 2,909 Times in 1,884 Posts
Originally Posted by mdadams1
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.
__________________
-Oh Hey!
Troul is offline  
Old 09-30-18, 07:35 AM
  #18  
frogmorton
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 79
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 12 Post(s)
Liked 29 Times in 17 Posts
If there isn’t an adult pushing them beyond their limits, I’d let it be. There are lots and lots of worse things a teen can do with their time.
frogmorton is offline  
Old 09-30-18, 07:50 AM
  #19  
wolfchild
Banned
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Mississauga/Toronto, Ontario canada
Posts: 8,721

Bikes: I have 3 singlespeed/fixed gear bikes

Mentioned: 30 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4227 Post(s)
Liked 2,488 Times in 1,286 Posts
Originally Posted by frogmorton
There are lots and lots of worse things a teen can do with their time.
Such as sitting in their basement all day and playing video games or getting stoned with drugs.
wolfchild is offline  
Old 09-30-18, 09:21 AM
  #20  
rgconner
Senior Member
 
rgconner's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 1,156

Bikes: Curtis Inglis Road, 80's Sekai touring fixie

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 472 Post(s)
Liked 11 Times in 9 Posts
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!
rgconner is offline  
Old 09-30-18, 10:07 AM
  #21  
KraneXL
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: La-la Land, CA
Posts: 3,623

Bikes: Cannondale Quick SL1 Bike - 2014

Mentioned: 32 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3405 Post(s)
Liked 240 Times in 185 Posts
Originally Posted by Viich
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.
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.
KraneXL is offline  
Old 09-30-18, 06:25 PM
  #22  
Homebrew01
Super Moderator
 
Homebrew01's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Ffld Cnty Connecticut
Posts: 21,844

Bikes: Old Steelies I made, Old Cannondales

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1173 Post(s)
Liked 921 Times in 608 Posts
Originally Posted by mdadams1
I withdraw the question...ugh i just wanted some info. No intention to interfere. wow. Can a question be deleted?
As OP, you can request the thread be closed, by using the "Report" button to alert the moderators.
__________________
Bikes: Old steel race bikes, old Cannondale race bikes, less old Cannondale race bike, crappy old mtn bike.

FYI: https://www.bikeforums.net/forum-sugg...ad-please.html
Homebrew01 is offline  
Old 09-30-18, 06:27 PM
  #23  
Homebrew01
Super Moderator
 
Homebrew01's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Ffld Cnty Connecticut
Posts: 21,844

Bikes: Old Steelies I made, Old Cannondales

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1173 Post(s)
Liked 921 Times in 608 Posts
Originally Posted by mdadams1
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.
Don't worry, we're quite capable of getting irritated about anything, without assistance
__________________
Bikes: Old steel race bikes, old Cannondale race bikes, less old Cannondale race bike, crappy old mtn bike.

FYI: https://www.bikeforums.net/forum-sugg...ad-please.html
Homebrew01 is offline  
Old 09-30-18, 06:47 PM
  #24  
Flip Flop Rider
Senior Member
 
Flip Flop Rider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: South Carolina Upstate
Posts: 2,103

Bikes: 2010 Fuji Absolute 3.0 1994 Trek 850

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 761 Post(s)
Liked 553 Times in 320 Posts
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
Flip Flop Rider is offline  
Old 09-30-18, 07:06 PM
  #25  
Homebrew01
Super Moderator
 
Homebrew01's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Ffld Cnty Connecticut
Posts: 21,844

Bikes: Old Steelies I made, Old Cannondales

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1173 Post(s)
Liked 921 Times in 608 Posts
Mental burnout is more of an issue, IMO.
I wonder what his motivation is for doing so much ? Does he have specific goals ?
__________________
Bikes: Old steel race bikes, old Cannondale race bikes, less old Cannondale race bike, crappy old mtn bike.

FYI: https://www.bikeforums.net/forum-sugg...ad-please.html
Homebrew01 is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.