Good article on Ondre Pipkins
August 24th, 2011 at 1:58 PM ^
Or we haven't closed the deal on his doppelganger?
August 24th, 2011 at 1:59 PM ^
Its impressive the kid was benching that weight at age 6 but my question is: Why the f- did his dad let him bench at age 6? That's messed up.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:06 PM ^
Dad's are always doing stuff that make other people say WTF. My dad let me use power tools when I was 5 and I still have all my appendages. He was probably watching his dad work out and wanted a try. According to the article, the fact that his dad was active in his life has had a huge positive impact on Ondre. I'm happy for Ondre and his dad and I hope he has a great career at Michigan.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:31 PM ^
That's a good point - someone can always question another's parenting skills. I always operated under the impression that weighlifting is not good for kids (see Magnus's mention below) but it clearly did not stunt Pipkins's growth!
FWIW, I let my son (age 3) use screwdrivers and pliers so I'm not one to judge - he's HEAVILY supervised, of course, but still . . .
August 24th, 2011 at 2:37 PM ^
but it clearly did not stunt Pipkins's growth!
That's easy for you to say. You didn't seen the old doctor's records that projected him to be 7' tall and 350 lb.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:07 PM ^
Maybe his dad didn't want him to be bullied. Being the strongest kid in class always helps.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:07 PM ^
Not messed up if his dad already realized that his son was freak strong.. I would think there is probably more to the story than him saying "alright son get on the bench and go at it."
August 24th, 2011 at 2:16 PM ^
I'm not a doctor, but generally I think weight training is frowned upon with children that young. They don't have the chemical makeup to build muscle very easily, and the weightlifting could cause structural damage that can stunt growth and healthy development.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:19 PM ^
Obviously his growth was stunted. He is a tiny dude if he is trying to play D1 ball. Shouldn't have been lifting when he was young.
August 24th, 2011 at 3:59 PM ^
He is an obvious exception. But, by and large, weightlifting before puberty puts too much strain on one's musculoskeletal frame and can lead to stunting.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:20 PM ^
Someone needs to contact the New England Journal of Medicine, because clearly in this particular case the last thing weightlifting did was stunt his growth and development.
You're not wrong though, just saying...
August 24th, 2011 at 2:31 PM ^
Why do you assume the guy was a gym rat at 6 years old? The article just mentions the feat of strength. It doesn't say he was benching 100lbs at 8, 125 by 9, etc. I think Magnus is right about the adverse effects of continued early weightlifting.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:36 PM ^
You're right that is usually it's frowned upon to start lifting that early. Howeva, growth stunting/injury mostly due to the lack of good fundamentals (and then lifting too much with bad form). When done correctly, it can actually be beneficial to start young. But paramount to that is proper supervision.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:00 PM ^
Bodyweight workouts are beneficial to start young. Weightlifting should not be started until after puberty.
August 25th, 2011 at 1:06 PM ^
This is mainly a myth. There has been no medical evidence to suggest it is a bad thing for young people.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:47 PM ^
Many people do frown upon it, but for no good reason. Conventional wisdom says it's dangerous, but by and large, that's a bunch of crap. I've not seen a single study that links weight training and growth plate injuries in children, which tend to be of the acute variety. On the contrary, weight training can be of great benefit to children. It's true that the hormonal structure required to build muscle is not all there at a young age, but neuromuscular adaptations and positive effects on bone density are just a couple of things that can aid in a child's physical and athletic development.
Here's a half-decent article on the subject:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/phys-ed-the-benefits-of-weight…
*edit: Well said WolverineMD... you beat me to the punch.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:47 PM ^
That weight lifting is bad for kids is mostly a myth. This article does a good job covering the benefits of weight lifting in minors.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/phys-ed-the-benefits-of-weight-training-for-kids/
edit: guess I was a few minutes late.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:51 PM ^
Frowned upon, like masturbating in an airplane? Thanks a lot Bin Laden...
August 24th, 2011 at 3:09 PM ^
Rainman nearly bankrupt the casinos and he was a r- . . .
August 24th, 2011 at 3:35 PM ^
you should tell that to the little hercules kid that was constantly on tv.. granted his father kind of pushed lifting on him at such a young age, but he still wanted to do it.
Wasn't he benching like 200 lbs by age 9 or 10?
August 24th, 2011 at 2:31 PM ^
hair
August 24th, 2011 at 2:33 PM ^
was having Ondre engage in real weight training. It's just as likely he had Ondre plop down on the bench to see what he could do. Regardless, whatever lifting Ondre did didn't appear to stunt his physical development.
I'll be really surprised if Ondre isn't starting by the end of his true freshman year.
August 24th, 2011 at 3:13 PM ^
Sorry for derailing the discussion in this thread.