The bike riding is fine. I guess many of my experiences with parents and coaches led me to believe you are throwing him on a stationary or recumbent bike for an hour each day so I apologize for that assumption. I'd highly recommend this athlete takes up other sports so that he can learn other movement patters besides what he does in the pool.
As far as the rep range I can't give you an accurate answer because I don't know what we are developing. Now that he is just entering puberty the chemicals are now becoming available to actually facilitate muscle growth, but are we trying to build strength, power, muscular endurance, etc.? It's also difficult to start throwing out exercise regiments and descriptions without an actual assessment of the athlete. Programs that jump right into strength programs without proper assessment and education have the potential to set that athlete up for injury.
The advice I would give first would be to keep him off machines when developing strength. It's very easy for parents and coaches to start kids off on machines because they are easy to use but, the long-term effects are very detrimental to development. Secondly, find a qualified professional that makes teaching a priority.
I see that you are in Indianapolis so I highly recommend talking to Bill Hartman. He is one of the very best in the industry and can help you or hopefully refer you to a professional in the area that specializes in youth development.
I hope I've been able to give you some insight on the complexity of how young kids need to be developed. Education is key and I'll do my best to answer your questions. The wealth of knowledge presented by professionals such as Bill Hartman and Brian Grasso can exponentially increase your own knowledge of the topic so I highly suggest reading their posts.
Will Haskell
Athletic Development Specialist
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