# Bodybuilding at 13



## ChirpyBird Muscle (Jan 14, 2018)

*Hey, I'm 13 and I'm a female bodybuilder. I started training around 11 and its been great, I love working out and it makes me feel amazing. But ever since I told people at school, my friends have turned on me and everyone thinks I'm weird, even the teachers. I wouldn't give it up for the world but it gets really hard sometimes. Everyone chants "muscles" and "bodybuilder" in class. I don't really want to go to school anymore. How do I show them how important it is to me and not just get laughed at?*


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

Hey ChirpyBird, and welcome to the forum.

Bodybuilding, or even just training, at your age is very uncommon. How did you get into it and what kind of stuff do you do as way of training?

School, and the age you are at, is a difficult one. It's a hard time when many kids find all kinds of reasons to pick on others - too fat, too thin, too tall, too short, too nerdy, poor family, bad haircut, glasses, braces, zits, uncool phone.... kids will pick on anything that makes someone stand out, and something like body building at your age will certainly make you stand out.

As hard as it is, don't take it personally. It's a phase of behavior that kids in social situations (like being at a school) go through growing up and, while it's horrible if you yourself are not like that, it does pass. If you love what you do, and get a lot of happiness and joy from it in a healthy way then keep doing it with a quiet dignity. You don't need to show them it's important to you, you just need to keep doing it for yourself.

As I said, 13 is very young, especially for a female. I think most people would tell you not to get too into it at such a young age and to relax and be careful not to make sacrifices for training or following a particular nutritional plan yet, and just go out and be a kid. That is definitely worth listening to. Equally though, only you know what this means to you, and who knows - if you really do love it and want to go a long way, you may just do so. Many of the very best started young. Only you can know what it means to you, and how much is right for you to put into it.


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