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F.A.Q.’s on Strength Training Children and Adolescents
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Q: How early can a child start on a strength training program?
A: According to the American Council on Exercise (ACE), strength training children is a safe and effective option for most children ages seven and up. ACE states that “research has clearly and consistently shown that supervised strength training is an extremely safe and beneficial form of physical activity.” ACE also recommends training within a strict set of strength training guidelines established for youth by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Sports Medicine, The American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine and The National Strength and Conditioning Association. Click here to view the guidelines. ACE also stresses the importance of eating right and doing aerobic exercise along with strength training in order to enhance overall physical fitness.
Q: What do I look for in a supervisor?
A: Supervisors should be trained in youth strength training and safety procedures. They should have experience working with youth, perhaps as a coach or physical education instructor. When working with groups of kids they should be responsible for no more than 10 at one time. These adult supervisors should be knowledgeable enough to choose the appropriate exercises and workload for each child. It would be ideal if the instructor had an understanding of the intricacies of sport-specific training and plyometric training. They should always be stressing proper form and technique when a child is performing an exercise. When necessary, adult spotters should help each child to prevent injury if a lift fails.
Q: Define a good strength training program?
A: One that begins with body weight exercises or simple movements, such as leg extensions that work one joint at a time. One should gradually move into more complex and multi-joint movements when basic and simple exercises are mastered. These movements require more muscle coordination, such as squats and are learned before speed and power movements like jumping and throwing. The proper frequency, intensity, time and type of exercise selection are critical for strength improvements. The amount of weight, number of repetitions per set, and the number of sets performed are gradually increased over time to maintain training intensity and to prevent injury. It is always safe to begin with light weight, one set of 10-15 repetitions of six to eight different exercises per session. The exercises selected should strengthen all the major muscle groups. Emphasis should be placed on the shoulders, abdominals, upper back and lower back. A warm-up with stretching exercises should precede a strength training session. A cool-down along with stretching should follow the session. A properly designed and competently supervised program will enhance strength, flexibility, motor fitness skills, sports performance and overall health. Parents may also notice improved psychosocial well-being in their children and fewer injuries in youth sports and recreational activities.
Q: What does sport-specific training mean?
A: Sport-specific exercise for athletes should closely mimic the biomechanics and velocity of the sport for which an athlete is training. Focus of the training should be on improving the secondary components of fitness; multi-joint strength, power, speed, quickness, agility, movement skills, deceleration, balance, reactivity and anaerobic capacity. All these components will enhance the athleticism of an athlete and better prepare one for more intense training, competition and sports specialization as he/she gets older. The primary components of fitness are: endurance, strength, flexibility and improvements in body composition.
Q: When should my child begin specializing in one sport and strength training for that sport year round?
A: The first time specialization should begin is during the early developmental phase, 12 to 13 for girls and 13 to 14 for boys. See section on Three Periods of Development for Children, Adolescents and Young Adults. However, this specialization should still be fairly broad; for example, it can be in a sport rather than a specific position or event. In track and field the specialization would be in the throwing events; later specialization would be in only one of the throws. In team sports, it is preferable to have the athlete play a variety of positions before specializing in one position.
Q: What are the Three Pillars for youth training?
A: This is a training style for youth developed by the Twist Conditioning Co. that we have adopted here at FAF for training female athletes. Twist Conditioning has packaged training into three primary pillars: sport movement which is training agility, quickness, multidirectional speed, external reaction skills, coordination, acceleration & deceleration. Sport strength, which involves muscular, whole-body, multijoint strength, muscular endurance, explosive power, power capacity, acidosis tolerance and recovery efficiency. Sport balance, which encompasses stability, kinesthetic awareness, proprioception, neuromuscular pathways, transitional balance & internal reactivity.
Q: What should I look for in a gym, weight room or fitness center?
A: Look for an orderly, clean and child friendly environment that is free of hazards and safe to train in. The equipment should be designed and sized for children, with weight stacks available in 1- to 5- pound increments. Ask about functional training aids such as stability balls, tubing bands, medicine balls and balance devices and whether or not these are available for training youth.
Q: Will my daughter/son develop big muscles?
A: You will see gains in strength and coordination, but it is unlikely you will see any increase in the size of your children’s muscles until they go through puberty. After puberty, boys/men have the capacity to develop bigger muscles than girls/women with strength training. However, girls have the ability to make strength gains equal to boys/men and they can train at the same intensities as boys/men.
Q: After puberty, does strength training cause women to become larger and heavier?
A: Strength training actually helps reduce body fat and increase lean weight. These changes may result in a slight increase in overall weight, since lean body mass weighs more than fat. However, strength training results in significant increases in strength, no change or a decrease in lower-body girths, and a very small increase in upper-extremity girth. Only women with a genetic predisposition for hypertrophy who participate in high-volume, high-intensity training will see substantial increases in limb circumference.
Q: How can I help my child enjoy this experience and adhere to the program?
A: Parents and supervisors should be positive and upbeat, give loving support for disappointments and celebrate accomplishments no matter how big or small. The children must be old enough to understand what it will take to see results. They must be able to attend two-three training sessions per week for at least eight weeks. One day of rest is recommended between sessions. Supervisors must keep the sessions varied, interesting and fun. Parents and supervisors should also encourage good eating habits and adequate sleep while training. Rewards should be given a child when he/she completes the training sessions or accomplishes any of his/her goals.
Q: Should my child be strength training year round or in-season?
A: A child can strength train year round if they are mentally, emotionally and physically ready for this challenge. Their year long program should be a well thought out periodized plan for strength improvements and success based on the athlete’s needs and goals. A calendar year is typically broken into cycles of training: Pre-season cycle, in-season cycle and post-season cycle. The pre-season and post-season cycles will consist of more intense and more frequent strength trainings sessions. Usually after the start of the in-season cycle a gradual tapering of the frequency and intensity of the training sessions occur. In this cycle the athletes are so heavily involved in practices, games and traveling, therefore strength training sessions are sometimes cut to once or twice a week. Periods of rest that may last for days or weeks should be implemented in the program throughout the year. In fact, for girls in the developmental period of training there should never be a time throughout the year that they are not strength training.
Q: What are the critical years for developing motor learning skills?
A: All physical systems are trainable, however, ages seven to nine are the so-called “Skill Hungry” years for motor learning. Optimum motor learning develops in children when skills are taught at the right time and in the proper manner. These skills will provide a foundation for more specialized skills that will follow at an older age.
Q: Do girls/women get injured with strength training more often than boys/men?
A: No. I have not seen any reports that suggest girls/women get injured more often than boys/men with strength training.
Q: What is the difference between strength training, weight lifting and power lifting and bodybuilding?
A: Strength training uses resistance methods to increase one’s ability to exert or resist force. Free weights, the individual’s own body weight, machines, or other devices such as elastic bands or medicine balls all provide resistance. Weight lifting and power lifting are competitive sports that contest maximum lifting ability. The sport of weight lifting is composed of two competitive lifts: the clean-and-jerk and the snatch. Power lifting involves three competitive lifts: the squat, bench press, and dead lift. Athletes train for these sports at very high intensities. Bodybuilding is an esthetic sport that does not involve competitive lifts but depends on weight training. These athletes also train at high intensities and usually with heavy weight. Children should avoid weight lifting, power lifting and bodybuilding until they have reached physical maturity.
Q: Define adolescence and when boys/girls reach maturity?
A: Adolescence is a time of significant change, including physical growth and psychosocial transition. Normal growth during this time includes sexual maturation and an increase in body size. The majority of boys and girls reach adult height and weight in adolescence. The growth spurt in boys occurs between ages 13 and 15 and a half years; a gain of 4 inches can be expected in the year of maximum growth. The growth spurt in girls occurs between ages 11 and 13 and a half years; a gain of 3 and a half inches can be expected in the year of maximum growth. In general, boys become heavier and taller than girls. By age 18, boys have almost an inch of growth remaining and girls have slightly less. Bones, muscles, and all of the organs grow except the lymphatic system, which decreases in size. The brain reaches its maximum weight during adolescence.
Q: Is it safe to strength train before growth plates have formed?
A: Yes, even though growth plate closure does not begin until puberty. There are studies that have reported growth plate fractures in children who lifted weights, however, most of these injuries occurred as a result of improper training, excessive loading of weight and lack of qualified adult supervision. The risk of sustaining a growth plate fracture in prepubescents is actually less than in adolescents, because the epiphyseal plates are stronger and more resistant to shearing forces.
Q: Will strength training stunt my growth?
A: Strength training will not have an adverse effect on growth. There are studies that have shown positive growth effects as long as proper nutrition and age-specific physical guidelines were met. Training may actually be an effective stimulus for growth and bone mineralization in children, especially for those at risk for osteopenia or osteoporosis.
Q: Will I lose strength gains when I stop training?
A: Yes. Detraining is a term used to describe what can happen when one ceases a strength training program. This term refers to the temporary or permanent reduction or withdrawal of a training stimulus that may result in the loss of muscle strength and athletic performance. We know training-induced changes that exceed the natural growth-related strength increases are impermanent. If you stop strength training you will see a gradual decrease in muscular strength, performance and endurance. After 8 weeks of ceased activity we usually see a rapid and significant decrease in strength. Thus, maintenance programs for children are necessary to sustain the strength gains achieved with resistance training programs.
Q: What is overtraining and its consequences?
A: Overtraining is a syndrome that can develop with excessive physical training accompanied by little rest and recovery periods after hard workouts, long practices or grueling competitions. Overtraining can cause a great deal of stress on muscles, joints, and bones. All of this on top of the normal demands and stresses of life can push your body to a point where it can no longer repair the damage. You may fell exhausted, achy, edgy and burned out. Your athletic performance may suffer, you may be getting injured more often and you might feel like you have just “hit the wall.” Constant muscle soreness, difficulty sleeping or frequent colds may be your body’s way of telling you to take it easy for a while. If you are diagnosed with overtraining syndrome you may need to take a period of complete rest. However, some athletes can recover with light cross-training programs, eating well, plenty of rest at night and in between training sessions, massages and tackling any stresses in the personal life.
Q: Are a woman’s breasts or reproductive organs at risk with strength training or any other sports or fitness related activity.
A: The female reproductive organs are better protected from serious athletic injury than the male organs. Serious sports injuries to the uterus or ovaries are extremely rare. Breast injuries are among the rarest of all sports injuries, even when women play a full contact sport such as rugby or wrestling.
Q: What factors can reduce or eliminate the benefits of strength training?
A: The exclusive use of weight training machines, training with loads that are too light, and not progressing in resistance or intensity.
Q: What should my child wear while strength training?
A: Clothing that fits properly based on the child’s height, weight or body type. Typically, loose fit T-shirts, shorts or warm-ups that do not restrict movement are acceptable. Proper athletic shoes should be required while strength training. The appropriate footwear should match the type of activity. For example, if you are a runner you should wear shoes made specifically for running. If you are a basketball player, buy shoes made for the sport of basketball. There are shoes made for just about every sporting activity and that includes strength training. However, an indoor court shoe, cross trainer or running shoe would be sufficient. Make sure the shoe is not so worn out that it has lost its ability to provide stability and shock absorption when training.
Q: What is muscle soreness?
A: There are two types of exercise related muscle soreness. Immediate muscle soreness quickly dissipates and is the pain you feel during, or immediately after exercise. Delayed muscle soreness signals a natural adaptive process that the body initiates following intense exercise. This type of muscle soreness manifests itself 24 to 48 hours after the exercise session and spontaneously decreases after 72 hours. The cause for delayed muscle soreness is attributed to microscopic tears in the muscle and surrounding connective tissue following eccentric exercise. A muscle contracts eccentrically when it lengthens under tension during exercise.
Q: What is the Core?
A: The core involves musculature of the torso, front and back, in particular the external oblique, internal oblique, transversus abdominis, rectus abdominis, Coccygeus, Iliococcygeus and Pubococcygeus. The core holds the body in alignment and allows the extremities to move in a more efficient and effective manner. The core is the body’s center of power, the core transfers power distally to the arms and legs. Regular conditioning of the core muscles is vital for preventing injuries, correcting posture and ensuring more efficient and functional movement patterns. A dysfunctional core means dysfunctional movement.
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