I have been coaching for more than 15 years now, and I get asked the question on a regular basis about why should we do resistance training for children.
So, I have recently been re-reading a few articles and position statements on resistance training for children and I have decided to summarise a few key points from a paper titled: “Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology position paper: resistance training in children and adolescents.” that was written in 2008.
This paper reviews a lot of literature around developing children so I thought it was a great article to explain how we do things at Vector Health.
First of all, children in this article and by my definition are children that have not undergone puberty yet, so that is up to 11yrs for girls and 13 for boys. Some children obviously will undergo puberty earlier than others.
Adolescence is the period between childhood and adulthood and is from 12-18 in girls and 14-18 in boys.
Resistance training as according to this article is the use of progressive resistance forces and loads in a variety of ways including body mass, and external loading in order to improve health and improve sporting performance. Resistance training encompasses terms such as weight training, calisthenic training and resistance band work.
To be very clear, powerlifting and weight lifting are sports. These sports involve the use of a weight load with the purpose of improving an athlete’s 1 repetition maximum in a competitive environment.
So, firstly what are the myths of resistance training for children and adolescents?
1. Weight training stunts growth
There is no research that I have ever found to state specifically that you can stunt, stop or affect growth cycles in your body in any way by resistance training. However, there are a range of health benefits that do come with weight training, including better bone mineral density, lower body fat percentage and improved motor skills and performance. Based on the current situation in Australia, where up to 25% of children are said to be overweight, maybe more people should consider the positive benefits of resistance training at a young age, rather than worry about the myths!
2. Weight training damages growth plates
Growth plates, in my experienced are best damaged by falling off things like bicycles, skateboards and other fun devices that children tend to utilise! In more than 15 years, I have never seen a child injure themselves and damage a growth plate yet.
3. Safety concerns
In my experience, the most likely way for a child or adolescent to injure themselves in a gym setting is not following instructions, which is why coaching is important at a young age. We need to progress based on competence, NOT because a child or adolescent WANTS to. Following a structure and improving mobility and stability BEFORE strength, speed or fitness will in my experience result in less injuries in the short and long-term.
So, if your child is playing sport, then you could say that resistance training can and will help them to prevent injury, improve performance and learn how to train.
Vector Health has a specific junior development program with three levels that is starting in 2016:
Level 1:
Beginner – generally for between 8-12 year olds with little to no experience in a gym setting. These coaching sessions are conducted twice weekly and at a ratio of 1 coach to 6 athletes to maximise individual feedback, and the focus on stability and mobility here is to improve general movement competency in basic, functional movement patterns such as pushing, pulling, rotating, jumping, landing and throwing. The expected commitment here is 2 x sessions weekly for 1 whole school term with a coach at a set time during the week, usually 3:30pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.
Intermediate – Generally for between 10-14 years of age with between 2-4 months of experience in the gym. Here, we focus on asking the athletes to work by themselves a little more, with the focus on mobility, stability still there, however for some athletes we are starting to move into strength and power activities based on competence of basic movement patterns. Athletes should have completed our beginner program and have ability to work in sessions on their own. This session is a 2 x weekly commitment and has 1 coach to 8 athletes with still a focus on individuality and exercise progression.
Advanced – Generally for between 12 to 18 years of age with between 3 and 6 months of experience. Athletes in this group have progressed through beginner and intermediate levels of coaching and have proven that they are able to work by themselves. We have coaches on the floor to supervise athletes here with a ratio of 1 coach to 10 athletes. In this group, we teach the ability to spot, load and work in groups with each other to ensure safety is always maintained. The main difference between the intermediate and advanced program levels is the level of individuality that we provide to each athlete. Each athlete has their own, specific program to their needs and goals. We provide a 1-1 coaching session at the start of each school term that focuses on re-setting goals, program expectations and demonstrating any new exercises to ensure understanding. The commitment here is a membership base per week, where depending on the need, athletes may train between 1-4 times a week in the gym environment.
If you are interested in any of these programs please click on the link that applies best to you or your child for 2016, first term. If you are not sure, please either select the lesser of what you believe, as we will move junior athletes up ranks as we believe they can move during a term. Or you can call our office on 4927 8190 for any help with decisions on what program to place your child into.