Helping my 16-year old nephew (might be helpful to some)

[scmtnboy]

I haven't created a new post here in many years, but thought this might be helpful to some, or fun to read. Or just a nice way for me to type out some thoughts

I have a 16-year old nephew (who lives a few hours away) who doesn't have the most stable home life, but has expressed an interest in weight lifting and physique change, so I offered to coach him a bit as a way of offering
some stability and goal-setting and accountability (he doesn't have a regular father figure in his life right now). He's gotten into trouble before (small stuff) so maybe this will help give him a bit of direction, and it's just a good way for us to connect, too.

He has about a year of weight training experience, and often texts me about new bench press PRs, squat and deadlift PRs, etc.
For reference he's about 145 pounds at maybe 5'7.

He doesn't have much money and doesn't always have a way to get to a gym (though just started a weight-lifting class in high school) so I showed him a bunch of
bodyweight exercises he could do at home and gave him some bands to work with too.

I asked him to keep a diet journal for a few days and it was quickly apparent that he wasn't eating anything very supportive of his goals (would often not eat anything until later in the day, then it would just be sporadic junk food, mostly)
I wanted to keep things super simple to start with, so as not to overwhelm him too much, but provide some general guidelines that he would see results from.

So last week we started with 2 rules, which I dubbed "Project Protein":
- eat 40-50 grams of protein within the first hour of waking up every day
- get a total of 150 grams of protein each day
(then I told him cheap sources of protein, to try to eat maybe 3-4 times a day, etc.)

Super simple, and easy to track.
And he emails me once a week with new pics, his body weight, and what he ate each day with the protein numbers listed.

After the first week he's already looking a lot better (his first update was this morning) and he replied:
"I feel a lot stronger overall and I’m already noticing differences in my forearms and some in my legs as well, I still get hungry but I’m not snacking on junk nearly as much.
I went from 165x4 to 185x5 on squat in just a week"

So this week we're working on keeping the Project Protein rules in place, and increasing calories, mainly from carbs.

Anyways, maybe I'll update this periodically as he progresses.
Cheers

I’m doing something very similar with my 20 year old who just started training with me. It’s really cool for me on multiple levels. I’ve been nerding out on this stuff for the better part of 20 years but I’m not a coach like you so other than answering random questions that I feel like nobody really likes the answer this is the first time really taking someone through the process. Best part is 5 months in he hasn’t skipped one workout or meal rust i told him to eat.

 

[Gunsmith]

That young man is incredibly luckily to have you , not just as a coach but male role model , mentor and cool uncle.

Its really good to see posting here.!!
Every time a thread comes discussing female competitors i hope you chime in with some real facts

Hope to see you here more , best of luck to your nephew , hopefully he gets bit by the bug and stays with this

 

[Shelby]

@Shelby, For his diet, did you utilize the basic BMR calculation as a starting point for the 150g protein or did you go about this another way?

Cage

He's about 150 pounds. 1g per pound of body weight is a good starting point for someone who has pretty much no good diet at all.

 

[cage99]

He's about 150 pounds. 1g per pound of body weight is a good starting point for someone who has pretty much no good diet at all.

Thanks, sorry abt that I missed where you had put his height & weight in the original post.

Cage

 

[TrippplePPP]

Shelby. I officially started weight training when I was 14. I did a little bit here and there when I was younger though and recall asking my older cousin to help teach me. He showed me a few things and it meant the world to me. I think it’s great you are doing this for your family member.

 

[thebarbarian]

Great idea. I think you're right, a little direction could be just the thing for him right now. If he's anything like me, the structure of the process and seeing results coming directly from his efforts will be great for him in all sorts of ways, e.g., self-confidence/pride, self-control, a foundation to build off when life is hectic, and even just as a way to blow off steam. Also, great to see you posting more often again.

 

[cage99]

@Shelby, with money being a restriction for the young man what cheap protein sources are you having him utilize?

Being a teenager I’m assuming he’s not cooking for himself or am I wrong? When I think cheap protein I’m thinking chicken, pork, fish only because of where I live, and eggs… All are easy enough to cook for a teen, just don’t overcook em.

I wouldn’t think protein powders cause they can get pricey and his folks won’t want the added expense.

Cage

 

[Shelby]

@Shelby, with money being a restriction for the young man what cheap protein sources are you having him utilize?

Being a teenager I’m assuming he’s not cooking for himself or am I wrong? When I think cheap protein I’m thinking chicken, pork, fish only because of where I live, and eggs… All are easy enough to cook for a teen, just don’t overcook em.

I wouldn’t think protein powders cause they can get pricey and his folks won’t want the added expense.

Cage

He's been eating a lot of canned chicken, protein bars, and milk.
It's far from anything highly structured or ideal but he's seeing steady results. This week he's up about 6-7 pounds from last week and he looks a bit leaner, and he's definitely adding strength & muscle.

 

[EnhancedFatGrappler]

He's been eating a lot of canned chicken

Oh man, he is a true soldier for eating those daily, the boy has dedication !