Proper parenting is always a grey area, especially when you factor in cultural expectations, and one father from Illinois has proven this yet again. The aforementioned dad has sparked a debate online after a video of him training his son in a workout went viral. That’s because his son was profusely crying and seemed to be in pain or struggling while lifting weights, though he kept pushing the kid.
Instagram user trustbjj1, presumably from Chicago, Illinois, is the dad in question, and he posted the video on January 19, 2026. In the clip, you can see the 5-year-old son, named Trust, struggling to finish his current overhead press set with dumbbells, crying while trying to lift them. His dad, however, kept pushing him, telling him to “Shut up, get them up here, and be quiet.” The dad thankfully assisted Trust as his spotter so the kid could finish the set.
The overhead press isn’t the only video of his son crying during the workout, as there’s another clip where Trust also bawled his eyes out while doing pullups with improper form. As for why his dad is pushing him to train with adult weights, apparently, Trust is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu wrestler who competes seriously and has even won many competitions.
Trust’s mother, Kay Karma, even put up a GoFundMe to “help cover the costs of wrestling and Ju Jitsu gear, tournament fees, travel expenses, and training opportunities.” It’s not clear what Trust’s training regimen is, but some experts have stated that a 5-year-old is not quite ready for adult weightlifting equipment yet, especially if they can’t maintain form when lifting heavy, and trying to force it poses higher risks of injury.
People online are torn over the parenting style
While Trust’s dad has earned much praise on his Instagram account for training his son at such a young age, reposts of his clip on other platforms have sparked a debate. On one hand, a commenter stated, “He just crying cuz he doing something he don’t really wanna do. Dad building his character he gone be aight,” while on the other hand, someone else ranted, “Let the child be a child and grow.”
Others have pointed out that Trust was a little too underweight to be lifting adult weights, “That boy need food not a work out,” and might get injured if he keeps trying to lift anything other than his bodyweight. Hence, some harsher critics ended up accusing Trust’s dad of going too far, “This is abuse. Anyone who thinks otherwise is lying. Some parents train their kids early because they see them as a ticket, preparing them for sports and gradually getting them ready for the league, but this is NOT that. Kids don’t forget.”
Trust’s viral workout clip has also reminded viewers of Richard Sandrak, aka Little Hercules, who was a child bodybuilder and could lift 180 lb (82 kg) by the age of six, earning him the title of the “World’s Strongest Boy.” Turns out Little Hercules was abused physically and emotionally by his father, often forcing him into intense daily workouts starting at the age of five.
