re: 11 yo son started lifting in gym.

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I would have him do high reps, 12-15, until his growth plates close around 14.

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This is actually a little bit of a misconception. The old saying of, "Kids shouldn't strength train until their at least 13 years old because they can injure their growth plates" is not true. Growth plates will get damaged because of injuries to them, not because of strength training. At that age it's important to focus on teaching them the fundamentals and ingraining the muscle memory of good proper form. If your son's form is good, the risk of any injury, even to his growth plates, is next to zero.