Does Strength Training Stunt Growth?

The idea that strength training can stunt growth has been around for generations, and I get why.

After all, kids’ growth plates haven’t closed yet, so might lifting weights somehow damage that process?

No, it won’t. And you don’t have to take my word for it. Decades of research back me up.

If anything, strength training is “paramount” for children, according to current exercise science.¹ It helps kids build stronger muscles and bones and reduces the risk of injuries.

As long as they have coaching and supervision, it’s all good.

Wanna know where the myth came from, what the science says, and how kids can lift to build a foundation that lasts? Keep reading.

What Does “Stunt Growth” Mean?

When someone claims that strength training “stunts growth,” they usually mean one of two things.

• They either mean that it’ll make a kid permanently shorter than they would have been: a child who was likely to grow to 5’10” might only reach 5’7” because they lifted weights.
• Or they mean that it’ll damage the physes, the growth plates of cartilage near the ends of bones.

And I understand those concerns.

Growth plates are real, and they can be injured. A serious growth plate injury could harm bone development.²

But that’s not the same as strength training itself causing stunted growth.

Is it possible to injure yourself in the weight room? Sure. Just like soccer, gymnastics, football, basketball, skateboarding, or climbing can cause injuries. But most documented injuries in kids are accidents and unsupervised horsing around, not supervised strength work.

Well-designed strength training with qualified supervision doesn’t hurt growth plates or make a kid end up shorter than they would have been.³

In fact, research shows that strength training is both safe and effective in kids 7 and up.⁴

Where Did the Myth Come From?

The idea that strength training stunts growth comes from several things thrown together into the myth cauldron and mixed well.

First, back in the not-so-good old days of child labor, kids doing hard physical work were often short. We’re talking 19th-century coal-mining children in Britain and results from a 1960s Japanese report.^{5 6}

Those children were underfed and hugely overworked, things that, especially together, can lead to kids not reaching their potential height. But the takeaway ended up being that heavy work makes kids short.

Second, we have the growth plates. Kids can injure their growth plates, so the worry was that barbells would damage and close them. And back then, without any real research, that concern is understandable.

Third, doctors and experts actually helped the myth stick. When I grew up and started training in my early teens back in the 80s, they were very wary of weightlifting, powerlifting, and heavy lifting in general for kids.

And sure, limited data at the time and all that. I get that. However, those cautionary tales lived on as “kids shouldn’t lift weights” even when sports science had caught up.

So, to summarize, the stunt myth likely started with studies on deprived children doing hard labor in terrible conditions. Then, real but misplaced growth-plate concerns and old, too-conservative advice kept it going.

So, Does Strength Training Stunt Growth?

No, strength training does not stunt growth. There is no evidence at all to support that idea.

I’ve collected a few of the heavy hitters as an example:

• The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) says there is no scientific evidence that a well-designed strength training program stunts growth.⁷
• The UK Strength and Conditioning Association, endorsed by the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, adds that the stress on growth plates from strength training may actually be beneficial for bone growth.⁸
• The American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for clinicians state that, and I quote, “appropriately designed resistance training programs have no apparent negative effect on linear growth [and] physeal health”.⁹

That doesn’t mean kids should train exactly like adults.

A 7-year-old child and a 14-year-old soccer player and a 17-year-old bodybuilder all need different programs.

But the idea that lifting weights, even heavy ones, interferes with kids’ height is outdated.

Actually, naturally active kids already put a big stress on their bones and joints every day from running, jumping, wrestling, and playground climbing. And that’s a good thing.

Why Strength Training Is Good for Kids

Even more important than strength training being “not harmful“ is that it is actively beneficial for kids.

Here are some of the benefits:

• Muscle strength and power. Being strong is useful in both everyday life and in sports, and nothing says “stronger“ like lifting weights. Children can increase their strength by 30–50% in just 8–12 weeks with a good program.¹⁰ Kids who lift may also gain some extra muscle mass, but not like after puberty.
• Stronger bones. Childhood is the best age to build bone mass and density for adulthood. And how do you do that? With weight-bearing physical activity.¹¹
• Healthy habits. It’s much easier to maintain a healthy habit like exercise if you start during childhood.¹² There is truth to the saying about old dogs.
• Mental health. Strength training is good for the body and the brain. It can help control anxiety and improve self-esteem.^{13 14} And a 2025 meta-analysis of 27 studies with over 3,000 kids ranked strength training as the number one type of exercise for reducing depressive symptoms.¹⁵
• Lower injury risk in sports. Not only does strength training improve performance in most sports, but it also reduces the risk of injury in kids playing them.¹⁶
• It’s fun! Strength training promotes body positivity and can be more appealing and fun than aerobic exercise for heavier kids.¹⁷ And no one wants to keep doing something we don’t like doing, even if it’s good for us.

A 2020 umbrella review (the highest level of the medicine evidence pyramid) states that the benefits of strength training for children are “irrefutable” and concludes that it should be part of physical education in schools all over the world.¹⁸

What About Powerlifting and Weightlifting?

Just as there is no evidence that general strength training is harmful for kids, there is nothing that suggests that the actual sports of weightlifting and powerlifting are harmful at a younger age.

For example, classic research lists weightlifting at about 0.0017 injuries per 100 hours of training and general weight training at about 0.0035.¹⁹

Most common school sports are far higher.

It also notes an injury rate of 0.0027 per 100 hours of powerlifting in adolescents, which is also not alarming compared with other sports.

These are all other types of injuries, not growth-plate injuries. But there has not been a single documented case of stunted growth.

There have been a couple of growth-plate fractures related to weightlifting, but those are acute injuries, not the result of training stunting growth.²⁰ The same kind of injuries happen (and are more common) in sports like football and basketball.²¹

More examples of studies looking at weightlifting and injury risk:

• Researchers followed 70 weightlifting kids aged 7–16 over a year of training and competition and reported no training days lost from injuries.²²
• A follow-up described 11 young lifters around age 12–14 over 534 competition lifts, again reporting no injuries requiring medical attention or lost training time.²³

A 2021 review of weightlifting research on children summarizes things with the words “the incidence and severity of injury is low; under proper supervision that includes proper technique and fatigue management strategies, these activities are no more injurious than other sports activities.”²⁴

Injuries that do happen to kids in the weight room are often strains and sprains.²⁵

However, it is important to remember that these low injury rates come from supervised settings with adults around. No one argues for an unsupervised free-for-all in the weight room.

But none of the studies find evidence for stunted growth.

That all being said, for children under about 10–12, I’d want a coach with real youth lifting experience, not just adult powerlifting coaching or general weightlifting credentials. Not for growth issues, but for safety in general.

And, of course, the child in question has to be able to and want to follow instructions.

A Safe Strength Training Program for Kids

A strength program for kids should be safe and effective. And enjoyable, too.

Our Training Program for Children and Adolescents is just that, and it’s free in our workout log app, StrengthLog.

Based on balanced full-body training, it features workouts you can do with your child 2 or 3 times per week.

It’s designed with current scientific recommendations for strength training for children in mind, with a variety of exercises for the entire body.

The perfect start to make strength training feel positive and a lasting habit.

We recommend the program for ages 9 and up, but it’s not a number set in stone. If your child can understand and follow instructions at 7, go for it.

It’s a great way for them to join mom and dad in the gym, as long as they enjoy it and you’re there to keep an eye on things.

The Training Program for Children and Adolescents is a program in our workout tracker app, StrengthLog.

It’s a great way for kids to get started building strength, and it’s free to follow. Parents can enjoy the same workout, and you’ll both benefit from it.

You can download the app for free with the buttons below.

Final Rep

Does strength training stunt growth?

No.

If you’re a parent wondering whether your child can lift weights, the better question would be “Does strength training benefit them?”

And the answer is yes. In fact, strength training can help them grow. Not necessarily taller, but definitely stronger and better prepared for the rest of their lives.

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Last reviewed: 2026-06-05

References

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   p. 476. (1966). Obstructed growth in children’s bones due to excessive labor in remote corners. (Not available online.)
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