56 minutes agoShareSaveRuth CleggHealth and wellbeing reporterShareSaveGeorge HollandRipped. Shredded. Jacked. Swole. Which are you?Gym jargon such as this, which refers to the size and definition of muscles, has long been heard exchanged between pumped men in gym locker rooms – and now among teenagers too.TikTok videos show boys as young as 13 and 14 in school toilets, flexing veiny biceps which bulge out of their school uniforms.The quest for brick-like abs has become serious business – even if you’re still only in Year 8 – with posts on socials with hashtags like #shreddedphysique being viewed more than four billion times.The desire to get this look, for many, might mean doing a few deadlifts and drinking a protein shake from time to time. For others, it could be working out a few times a week, playing sport and eating a lot of chicken.But for a growing few it means going to the gym most nights, often following intense training regimes from social media, and learning how to “cut and bulk”.The cut and bulk cycle consists of eating hundreds of calories more than your recommended daily intake to get bigger, retaining some fat in the process, then several weeks later cutting calorie intake down to lose the fat for a leaner, more defined look.It can be all-consuming, and involves a lot of calorie counting, working out and dedication.Some sports nutritionists say it can be harmful – affecting hormone health, growth, and development, and could potentially lead to problems with eating disorders such as muscle dysmorphia – the idea your body is smaller and less muscly than it actually is.I’ve spoken to three teenagers, who all share a love of the gym, about what is driving them to get ripped this way.The 14-year-old body builderGeorge HollandWhen George Holland first walked on stage he thought he might feel nervous. The 14-year-old was by far the youngest contestant in the under-19s category of the National Amateur Body-Builders’ Association finals.Wearing fake tan and a pair of small trunks, it might have felt a bit exposing to start flexing his muscles before an audience of hundreds – but, George says, “I had practiced everything and I knew there was nothing to be worried about.” He went on to win the bronze medal.George joined a gym when he was 11, having watched some of the bodybuilding greats online who inspired him to give it a go. In the early days, he explains, he would work on each muscle group twice a week, lifting no more than 10kg – the heaviest permitted for a child under 16 at his local leisure centre.But, after changing gyms, for a “proper gym vibe”, he says, he could start to increase the load, working out alongside 20-30-year-olds.George HollandAfter seeking out more experienced men from whom to learn, George is now coached by a former Mr Universe, Eddie Ellwood. He’s bench-pressing 140kg, squatting 180kg, and deadlifting 200kg.His drive, he says, comes from looking at others in the gym and wanting to be as big as them. George eats six meals a day, goes to school, trains hard (four days on, one day off, four days on) and posts to his 140,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram.He’s currently in a “bulking” stage, he explains, consuming around 4,100 calories a day. After 16 weeks, he will start to cut, gradually reducing his calorie intake to 2,200 a day.When I ask if he’s worried about the intensity of his fitness regime and the desire to look big at such a young age, he’s very clear: “I completely disagree with that, going to the gym when you are young is dead good for you.”It’s good for your mental health, your overall fitness, and it gives you good discipline.”‘You can’t cheat getting bigger’George Hazard was 12 when he started working out. That was during lockdown and his home gym consisted of a pull-up bar, a few weights, and a plastic bench in his garage.Now 17, he says going to the gym has become a bit of an addiction – he’s there five or six nights a week – and along with his mates, he bulks out and cuts back.George feels it’s helped him stay mobile since recovering from a leg-lengthening operation where a nail was put through his femur bone, after he was born with one leg shorter than the other.He says you can get “fountains of knowledge” from social media, especially around optimal muscle growth. George HazardBut how do you distinguish between well-tested, science-based recommendations and other, less informed suggestions, I ask him?”Once you’ve spent a good few hours on TikTok for example, you get a feeling for what is a load of rubbish and what is good stuff,” George replies.”For a start – the decent ones put links to studies alongside their content.”He says you can workout and eat well, but it can be difficult being so young because you “can’t stick to a strict diet and tell your parents exactly w …
