Bloke dad-shamed after making his son work out with him at home with people saying the poor tot will stay ‘4ft forever’
A MAN has been brutally dad-shamed after people insisted his tot will remain ”4ft forever” if he continues to make him do weightlifting.
There’s no denying that exercise is great for both our physical and mental health – but does that mean young kids should lift weights as well?
Well, it seems that one dad definitely thinks so, as he recently went viral after sharing a clip of his little tot working out at his mini home gym.
The father, who claims to the ”world’s strongest vegan”, is into fitness and healthy lifestyle himself – and now wants to pass on his passion to his children too.
The now-viral video sees one of his kids squatting with what appeared to be a toy barbell and foam weights on his back.
As the little tot, believed to be around two to three, goes up and down, holding the weights with his hands, the dad could be heard in the background ordering him to not stop.
”Okay, let’s go! Up!” the dad instructed the kid, who was sporting gym attire.
But although the father was proud of the form and even dubbed him ”the strongest baby in the world”, the young tot didn’t seem to be too thrilled with the activity.
”I’m tired of this.”
It’s not just the smallest of the brood who’s been introduced to the fitness and weightlifting world – the fitness enthusiast then shared the back workout routine for his other kid.
Here, the child could be seen bending his knees with a barbell between his legs, as he pulled it in an upwards motion to engage the back muscles.
”There we go, boy! Pull, pull!” the veganism enthusiast was sat behind checking on his form.
However, the workout routine was soon slammed on social media, where people reckoned the dad was not letting the kids’ bodies to develop properly.
Many, for instance, said the tots will remain short for the rest of their lives.
”Yo they gone be 4ft forever,” one commented.
Another agreed, warning: ”But don’t let him lift too much weights otherwise it will stop him from reaching his actual height when he gets older.”
”bro gonna be 5’2,” a third chimed in.
But there was also heaps of support from fellow gym lovers, some of whom couldn’t get over the ”immaculate” form.
One TikTok user wrote: ”Fathers are important. This is cute bonding time.”
A second penned: ”How to build a champion.”
”Me with my future kids,” an exercise fanatic added.
But should kids be lifting weights? Here’s what the expert think.
According to an article published by Men’s Health, strength training is key to motor skill development and athleticism.
”Contrary to what some might have heard, introducing a strength protocol to young athletes will not stunt their growth.
”This doesn’t mean that kids should be lifting heavy weights on principle, however — but they should be getting familiar with different types of resistance, like bodyweight (pushups, planks, and changing direction), free weights, bands and tubes, and other implements.”
The experts added that kids can usually begin resistance training around the same age they become interested in sports — which tends to be between 6- and 8-years-old.
”All that said, you should be cautious of programs that prescribe being able to do bodyweight exercises before exercise with weights.
”Children who are overweight or obese need to exercise and should experience the success of lifting an external weight rather than trying to move their bodyweight.”
What’s more, there are also heaps of benefits to weightlifting, Healthline added.
These include:
- increasing strength and bone strength index
(BSI) - decreasing fracture risk and rates of
sports-related injury - growing self-esteem and interest in fitness.
Dr. Rob Raponi, a naturopathic doctor and certified sports nutritionist, explained the myth that lifting weights stunts growth likely stems from the fact that injuries to growth plates in immature bones can stunt growth.
However, he noted out that this is something that can result from other factors, such as poor form, weights that are too heavy, and a lack of supervision from professionals – but it is not the result of lifting weights correctly.