We receive questions regarding safety and weightlifting for children. Weightlifting is both safe and beneficial for children when properly supervised. The following may provide more insight and helpful information into the topics of organized fitness activities and training of young athletes.
Proper Training Age
“At what age should my child start participating in an organized training program or kids gym?”
Human muscle innervation is completed around 6–7 years of age (Grasso 2005). This implies that the brain has formed its neural connections to the muscular system and that optimization of these connections can begin. This makes it more possible to perform coordinated activities. By 10–12 years of age, reflexive motor patterns are conditioned and relatively permanent (Grasso 2005). These findings suggest that introducing proper motor skills between the age of muscle innervation and the age of permanent motor pattern formation may be advantageous (Drabik 1996).
Research has demonstrated that children as young as 5 have experienced benefits from organized programs, such as resistance training (Annesi et al. 2005). However, while the neuromuscular system may be ready to acquire skill at a young age, starting on an organized regimen requires an adequate level of mental, physical and emotional maturity (Ashmore 2003; Drabik 1996; Grasso 2005). Regardless of age, the child must be able to focus, follow directions, understand coaching cues and be physically proficient enough to accomplish movements in response to cues. The criteria for beginning a program, therefore, have more to do with these characteristics than with exact chronological age (Grasso 2005). A physically and mentally capable youngster benefits from a well-designed program that increases motor coordination, strength, aerobic capacity, flexibility, bone health and a variety of other physical traits (Faigenbaum et al. 2009). Additionally, the child develops exercise habits that will mold his/her lifestyle for years to come.
It is essential that an organized training program for a child is safe, developmentally appropriate and engaging; it must offer the child an all-round positive experience. Much of the hesitation that parents feel is due to tales of inexperienced, overzealous coaches who implement unsafe poorly designed programs—particularly in resistance training. During the 1970s and 1980s, data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System suggested that resistance training was a dangerous activity for youth, given the numerous emergency-room reports of injuries from exercises and equipment. When the data were revisited, however, researchers concluded that nearly all of the injuries resulted from improper training techniques, excessive loading, lack of adult supervision or faulty equipment (Faigenbaum et al. 2009). Current research has not discovered any overt clinical injuries during properly designed and supervised resistance training at any age (Faigenbaum et al. 2009).
Children of any age can benefit from organized training as long as they have the physical, mental and emotional maturity to address the demands of an appropriate, well-designed program in a positive, engaging environment.
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Training Type
“What type of training should a particular athlete do?”
Parents often want to improve a child’s physical characteristics as they apply to a particular sport. When you consider the wide array of physical capabilities—strength, balance, coordination, power, visual perception, etc. that combine to create athleticism, sport specific training for youth is a ridiculous notion. A recent study by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) found that young people who participated in a variety of sports and other activities prior to puberty were more consistent performers, had fewer injuries and had longer athletic careers (AAP 2001). Regardless of the sport a youngster chooses to play, he/she will need to be proficient in all of the capabilities mentioned above in order to advance his/her level of play and learn positive exercise habits that last a lifetime.
Parents often confuse sport skills and general physical preparation. Every sport has a specific set of tactical skills. In soccer, for example, you must be able to dribble, pass, trap the ball and shoot. These are specific skills related to the game of soccer. These skills, however, are made up of more general physical capabilities, such as strength, coordination, balance, mobility, etc., that aid in creating overall athleticism. Even this wide range of general physical capabilities can be broken down into primary physical attributes, such as rhythm, kinesthetic differentiation, body awareness, movement adequacy and others (Drabik 1996; Grasso 2005). If you focus your training primarily on a specific skill set, you ignore the important foundations of that skill set.
The less experienced a child is with physical movement, the wider the range of physical abilities you must address. As the child becomes proficient in basic abilities, you can introduce more specific skill sets. For example, a young or physically inexperienced client should begin with movements that require very general physical abilities. Good choices include exercises and games that require skipping, marching, hopping, grasping, crawling, climbing, rolling, catching, throwing and kicking (Drabik 1996; Grasso 2005). When the child can accomplish these tasks well, move on to more specific preparatory activities, such as running, resistance training exercises (beginning with body weight), sustained cardiovascular exercise and other related athletic drills.
Author: Brett Klika (IDEA Author and Presenter) is the director of athletic performance at Fitness Quest 10 in San Diego, California. He specializes in youth fitness and athletic performance. Brett oversees a staff of eight strength coaches and develops program for over 300 youth athletes (and non-athletes) per week. He is a regular contributor for a variety of publications, produces DVDs on fitness and athletic performance and presents around the world.