A good coach will show you how to lift right so you don't injure yourself. He/she will also be there with good advice regarding diet and nutrition, exercise plans and other tips. If you absolutely can't afford a pro coach, then find an older guy at the gym who looks like a serious bodybuilder to act as your mentor. He'll be flattered, so don't be shy.

Stretch

You will need to be flexible and you will need to warm up your muscles before doing weights or any exercise. Do plenty ' this is one exercise you can't overdo.

First things first

Before you start pumping iron, pump yourself. Start off with push ups, chin ups and dips before moving onto the metal. What's more you can do these anywhere and they're a good way to impress your buddies at school.

Time

Your workouts should be less than an hour. At your stage of development, an intense workout should be over in 20-30 minutes. If you are not exhausted by this stage, then you are not working out intensively enough. Go all the way. When using weights, aim to use the full range of motion. You may see more advanced bodybuilders using only a half range occasionally, but this is for advanced strength training only. Teens need to be able to work all their muscles, ligaments, joints and bones throughout the entire movement. So no cheating or excuses.

Copyright (c) 2008 Al Short

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