I’ve told my boy and girls that the physical habits and results you develop now with be with you the rest of your life. Working out and keeping a healthy body fat level is not about looking good, but about taking care of the body God has given them in this 24/7 sittin’-on-your-butt society.

We were made to move.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

Psalm 139:14

Starting your kids on a strength training program is a great way to maximize the genetic potential that God gave you, and you handed down to them. We all have body parts that are naturally larger, leaner and have different muscle origin/insertion points, and this is determined largely by our genetics.

Unfortunately, nurture often trumps nature. Our kids learn to eat fast-food because no one cooks healthy or at least unprocessed meals at home any more. Our kids want to sit with a controller in their hand all day because they have watched us sit in front of a computer/cell phone screen all day.

When boys especially, hit around 14 or 15 years of age, they really desire to start adding strength and coordination to their new-found lean body mass. As parents, we can show them how to train properly and with the right moderation. Like other things they learn from the kids in school, locker room lifting conversations are insanely misinformed. I’d venture to say that if we wanted to put a dent in teenage steroid use, we could start by having parents and young men training together.

Trust me. You’ll notice real fast if you and your boy are doing the same workout and he just added 30 lbs. in 6 months and you only 5lbs. Yes, kids grow fast, but that’s likely not all creatine putting that mass on!

Arnold Schwarzenegger may not exactly be a CornerstoneDad, but it looks like he stoked a fire in his son the same way he did millions of others across the world. The desire to get in shape.

Take a look at this shot of his boy compared to Arnold at a similar age:

 

Now, think that everyone has the ability to compete in bodybuilding with “hard work and the right supplements”?

I don’t think so. You better have the right parents!

But you can teach your kids how to take care of what God (and you) have blessed them with, and those results will truly last for a lifetime.

If you need any tips on developing a routine for your kids, just let me know!

CSD