Instead, the research suggests that when resistance training is programmed appropriately and performed with good technique that it actually provides numerous BENEFITS for youth athletes. Some of these benefits include:. So if you can follow instructions, and understand the inherent dangers of being in a gym environment:. Meet the Physio Network Research Reviews! If you have a question, suggestion or a link to some related research, share below!
You must be logged in to post or like a comment. Posted in Exercise Prescription. Written by Timothy Rowland. Learn more. For young athletes especially, developing strength and explosiveness can be one of the easiest ways to take their games to the next level.
Numerous studies have observed that children and adolescents who partook in regular resistance training, on average, demonstrated significantly greater increases in strength compared to those who were not involved in any type of weight lifting program. The reality is, you can never totally eliminate the risk of injury if your child is involved in sports, but what you can do, is minimize the risk factors.
In young athletes, one of the leading causes of injury stems from muscle imbalances. The core, in particular, is an area that is underdeveloped in many children and adolescents. Core strength is vital in activities like running and jumping -- your core plays a central role in keeping the top half of your body stabilized over the bottom half. Having a weak or underdeveloped core ultimately increases the likelihood of experiencing strains, sprains, and tears all throughout your body, especially as your muscles become fatigued.
Bone strength is another factor that can make children susceptible to injury. Children with low bone mineral density are at an increased risk of experiencing bone fractures during physical activity.
However, numerous studies have demonstrated that with appropriate nutritional and training guidelines in place, significant increases in bone mineral density were observed in both children and adolescents. Plenty of researchers have also observed that weight lifting along with other forms of resistance training can help to improve certain motor skill performances like running and jumping in children and adolescents. Making improvements to important motor skills can ultimately have plenty of utility for your child both within and outside the world of sports.
Ultimately, the goal is to focus on performing movements that have a practical application given the child's particular needs, whatever they may be. Improvements across a number of different mental health indicators have been widely observed in adults who took up weight lifting.
While there hasn't been nearly as much research exploring whether or not the same is true for children and adolescents, a limited amount of evidence does suggest that resistance training may help to improve psychological well-being in kids as well as adults. For instance, one study observed that children who partook in regular physical activity including resistance training on average saw significantly greater improvements in mood, as well as, overall psychological well-being over the course of the trial.
Getting your child into weight lifting early on can also have plenty of benefits later in life. Many people become increasingly sedentary as they age, which raises the risk of heart disease , as well as, several other life-threatening conditions.
However, helping your kid to develop a healthy understanding and appreciation for weight training early in life can help turn it into a life-long practice. The biggest risks involved in lifting weights during childhood and adolescence mainly have to do with inexperience. With proper guidance and instruction, you can eliminate many of the factors that often cause training-related injuries at the youth level.
In general, most experimental research has demonstrated that days a week of training over the course of 8 - 12 weeks was enough to see significant strength and mobility improvements in most kids and adolescents. Again, things like exercise selections and training volume are going to vary from coach to coach and training program to training program but in general, the less experience your child has, the more conservative the training program will be.
Not only doesn't there appear to be any evidence to support the argument that weight lifting stunts growth, but most research actually shows that lifting weights during childhood and adolescence can actually be beneficial in a number of ways. From building strength and developing important motor skills to improving the psychological well-being of children and adolescents, researchers have identified a number of potentially positive applications for resistance training at the youth level.
As they get older they can progress to light hand weights. Routines that include hopping, jumping, skipping and other types of agility drills and movements can also help kids improve this sort of awareness. Working with lighter weights for sets of 10 to 20 reps, with good form, is safe and sets a good foundation for a life of healthy lifting habits.
Resistance training can also improve overall body composition by reducing fat, improving insulin sensitivity in adolescents who are overweight and enhancing cardiac function in children who are obese. Just keep the weight light enough that the child can do two sets of 15 repetitions for each exercise and not reach the point of total muscle fatigue. This will keep the growth plates protected and allow children to benefit from strength training.
Attention spans will vary from child to child, so once a child begins to lose focus, just stop and try again another day. Somewhere around age five or six, a child is ready for heavier weight such as dumbbells or sand-balls. I recommend starting with two to five pounds. The activity is meant to help, not wind up hurting them. So, it would not be wise to have an eight-year-old doing a bench press.
My son is now 10 years old, but he has not quite yet reached the stage where he feels he wants to start a formal training routine. These base, primal movements are essential for everyday life and healthy movement, and also have the most significant carryover in other sports or physical activities they may want to pursue.
When I worked in the NBA, I would much rather the organization draft a rookie who had never lifted before than someone who had done poor, or too much, lifting. My personal recommendation is to hold off until college. This article was featured in the InsideHook newsletter.
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