By Amy Ashmore, Ph.D.

Both the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommend strength training for children as young as six years old. In general, if a child is old enough to participate in organized sports, he or she is ready for a strength training program. Contrary to a popular misconception, there is no evidence that an age-appropriate strength training program, done under qualified supervision, is detrimental to a child. In fact, research has shown strength training helps children maintain a healthy body weight, benefits skeletal and joint development as well as improves sports performance. ACSM reported that strength training programs can prevent as many as 50 percent of all preadolescent sports injuries. Furthermore, Dr. Avery Faigenbaum, a leading research scientist in the children and strength training field, recently reported that for over 17 years he and colleagues conducted strength training classes for children, ages six to 12, without a single injury.

Among the general developmental benefits of strength training is its ability to increase bone mineral density, thereby decreasing the risk of developing osteoporosis later in life. In 1994, Welton and colleagues showed the skeleton is most responsive to strength training benefits during growth. This means strength training is most beneficial for young women before the age of 16 and young men before the age of 18. Evidently, the benefits acquired are long term. Post-menopausal women suffered fewer hip fractures if they had engaged in weight-bearing activity as young girls.

In addition to decreasing the risk of osteoporosis, strength training:

strengthens ligaments and tendons

Readies soft tissues to produce the forces associated with play, making them more pliable and resistant to external forces
improves motor fitness skills, such as jumping and sprinting, which are often required in sports performance.
As with any physical activity, certain precautions should be taken for the participant's safety. Adult strength training guidelines and programs should not be applied to children. Therefore, a child should not do spine-loading exercises (e.g., a squat under a bar) or engage in bodybuilding due to its risks to the growth plates and spine. Under no circumstances should a child who has not reached skeletal maturity (i.e., Tanner stage 5; typically at age 15 for girls and age 17 for boys) perform a maximum weight lift or any ballistic movements seen in Olympic weightlifting and power lifting. Every trainer must remember that special care must be taken when placing loads and demands on a developing muscular skeletal system. To aid practitioners who work with children in strength training settings, ACSM and AAP offer basic guidelines.

Guidelines for a Children's Strength Training Program

• The program should include at least one exercise for all major muscle groups.
• Children should learn movements without weight first.
• The program should be done on non-consecutive days.
• The child should perform one to three sets of each exercise. Each set should include six to 15 repetitions.
• Set weights for individual participants within developmentally appropriate boundaries.
• Once a child has mastered an exercise with weight, additional weight can be added in 5 percent increments (typically one to five pounds) every seven to 10 days. Since children are not small adults, they should not do exercises on adult-sized machines
• Although youth-sized equipment is available, few gyms offer these machines. Therefore, as a general rule, trainers should use dumbbell exercises for children. The additional advantage of dumbbell exercises is that they can be done in limited space.

Following are recommended dumbbell exercises, along with the major muscle groups worked.

EXERCISE MUSCLE GROUP(S) USED

• Standing squats Quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteals
• Lunges Quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteals
• Heel raises Gastrocnemius
• Abdominal crunches Abdominals
• Lying back extensions Erector spinae
• Lateral shoulder raises Deltoids and upper trapezius
• Shoulder presses Deltoids, triceps and upper trapezius
• Bicep curls Biceps
• Tricep kickbacks Triceps
• Bench press Pectoralis major and triceps
• Rows Latissimus dorsi and biceps

Most children do not have strength training experience and will need to be taught basic exercises. When instructing, keep in mind that children learn through repetition. Therefore, choose the exercises you want the child to learn and have him or her repeat them during each session until he or she has mastered them. This may take one or several weeks. Focus on form and technique and give the child feedback on how he or she did the exercise at the end of each repetition. Also, correct one problem at a time, think safety first and always say something positive before anything critical.

Trainer's Tips

• Pay close attention to form.
• Be patient. Do not expect children to learn exercises quickly.
• Use a four-count system, two counts for the up phase and two counts for the down phase, to keep a movement slow and controlled.
• Teach the child what muscle is working by using touchÑplace your hand on the child's muscle and tell him or her to squeeze where your hand is.
• Because strength training is structured similar to play (i.e., periods of high-energy activity alternated with longer periods of rest), it can be fun for children. A trainer can build upon this by incorporating a few ideas that appeal to them.
  • First, children like to know what they have accomplished. Chart the child's progress using such variables as a skill learned, weight lifted or number of repetitions.
  • Second, have the child keep an exercise journal. Ask him or her to write his or her least and most favorite exercises or anything else he or she wants to share.
  • Lastly, keep in mind that children like variation and to have a say in what they do. Ask the child to decide what exercise he or she wants to perform next or, when appropriate, if he or she would like to try a variation of an exercise. The key is to make the child's strength training time fun. Each child is an individual and you, as the trainer, will have to decide what works for each.

When done under proper, qualified supervision, strength training can be both beneficial and fun for children. Children today are inactive and need to get moving. Strength training is a fun way to build skeletal and muscle strength as well as improve self-esteem and confidence. Get children involved in strength training today and on the right track to a healthy, active lifestyle. AF

Amy Ashmore, Ph.D., earned a doctorate in kinesiology from the University of Texas at Austin. She can be reached at amyashmorephd@aol.com.

NOTE: This information is taken directly from AFAA's web site (http://www.e-afaa.com) and all acknowledgements should be given to such.