By: Luis Garcia ATC/LAT,CSCS
Is strength training safe for kids? If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that..... Id have ton of dollars. Will it keep them fit? help them in sports? Stunt their growth? A big number of parents just avoid the topic completely and don't allow their children to touch weights at all. I get it, we fear and avoid the things we don't know, by the time you're done reading this article you'll be a lot more informed on this topic and be able to confidently shed light on this topic to anyone stuck on the notion that weights and kids = BAD.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) STRENGTH TRAINING, which includes lifting free weights, using body weight, weight machines, and resistance bands is 100% safe If supervised by a qualified trainer who emphasizes safety and correct technique. The key word here is QUALIFIED. You wouldn't take your ferrari to get its maintenance done at a honda dealership, so you shouldn't have your child working with a trainer who is not qualified in this area.(article below)
Before we talk about the benefits, I first want to talk about the risks of children lifting weights. Lifting weights comes with risks at any age, the younger you are the more sensitive these can be. Unsupervised lifting, or lifting with an unqualified professional can increase the risk of a negative outcome for a child.
RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROPER WEIGHT LIFTING
Injuries include Herniated disks, muscle strains, muscle tears, bone fractures, growth plate fractures, and cartilage damage. Growth plate fractures being the most talked about of the bunch, since this is the one that can lead to "stunted growth".
When we talk about weight lifting and kids many parents instantly think their child is going to be going for 1 rep maxes on bench and overhead presses when quite frankly this is not the case. Training should start with building a foundation for the youth athlete working on things like stability, proper form/technique, controlled movements, and safety. Once you have built a solid foundation, that then allows you to begin the process of adding weight.
STUNTING THEIR GROWTH?
The myth that kids will stop growing if they lift weights is not supported by any scientific evidence or research. the misconception that lifting weights stunts growth likely stems from the fact that injuries to growth plates in immature bones can stunt growth. This is something that results from poor lifting techniques, poor mechanics, and lack of supervision not from lifting weights. What we must understand is HOW the growth plates are injured.
Most people assume that when you're lifting weights since your growth plates are at the end of your bones you are almost "squishing" your bones down and this is how you "stunt" your growth. Thats wrong. While yes, a bone fracture in the right location can lead to a fracture of the growth plate that is not how most of them occur. Most growth plate injuries occur because of a tendon related injury. Your tendons attach muscle to bone, many times attaching at the ends of bones near growth plates. What happens at these attachment sites is called an "Avulsion fracture". When an avulsion fracture occurs, the tendon or ligament pulls off a piece of the bone, since these tendons attach close to growth plates, they many times result in damage to the growth plate and a "stunting" of growth.
Your body does not differentiate the joint forces on your knees from lets say a squat as compared to a juke in football. The body responds to those forces equally. When you are looking at joint forces and forces on tendons in the weight room they are anticipated and controlled movements, when they are on the field or in competition they are unanticipated. This is where strength training can help a child's bones and tendons develop and prepare for the forces they will be experiencing in their sports.
AVULSION FRACTURE
Zaricznyj and colleagues evaluated the incidence of sports-related injuries (based on accident reports) in school-age youth over a one-year period and found that resistance training resulted in 0.7% of 1576 injuries, whereas American football resulted in 19% of all injuries. When the data were evaluated in terms of injury to participant ratio in school team sports, American football (28%), wrestling (16%) and gymnastics (13%) were at the top of the list. Studies have found that proper weightlifting causes significantly LESS damage to growth plates than youth sports including american football, soccer, gymnastics, basketball and volleyball. (Articles below)
The NSCA Position statement on youth training states
A properly designed and supervised resistance training program is relatively safe for youth.
A properly designed and supervised resistance training program can enhance the muscular strength and power of youth.
A properly designed and supervised resistance training program can improve the cardiovascular risk profile of youth.
A properly designed and supervised resistance training program can improve motor skill performance and may contribute to enhanced sports performance of youth.
A properly designed and supervised resistance training program can increase a young athlete's resistance to sports-related injuries.
A properly designed and supervised resistance training program can help improve the psychosocial well-being of youth.
A properly designed and supervised resistance training program can help promote and develop exercise habits during childhood and adolescence.BENEFITS OF TRAINING FOR KIDS (Article below)
"Despite outdated concerns regarding the safety or effectiveness of youth resistance training, scientific evidence and clinical impressions indicate that youth resistance training has the potential to offer observable health and fitness value to children and adolescents, provided that appropriate training guidelines are followed and qualified instruction is available. In addition to performance-related benefits, the effects of resistance training on selected health-related measures including bone health, body composition, and sports injury reduction should be recognized by teachers, coaches, parents, and health care providers. These health benefits can be safely obtained by most children and adolescents when prescribed age-appropriate resistance training guidelines."
SO WHAT DOES YOUTH RESISTANCE TRAINING REALLY DO?
Help protect your child's muscles and joints from sports-related injuries
Increased Bone strength
Help improve your child's performance in nearly any sport, from dancing and figure skating to football and soccer
Develop proper techniques that your child can continue to use as he or she grows older
Increase your child's muscle strength and endurance
Increase your child's confidence
WHAT AGE CAN A CHILD BEGIN RESISTANCE TRAINING?
Whenever this question is brought to my attention I have the same exact answer every time "as soon as you child is mature enough to listen to instructions" for some that may be as young as 5-6yrs old for other kids it might take until their 13yrs old, biological age isn't the determining factor. I need to be able to trust that a child is going to not only listen and follow my instructions, but not going to be messing around with equipment that if used as a toy can get people seriously hurt.
CONCLUSION
If you trust your child's body to play ANY sport then there should be no reason you should not trust them lifting weights. The risk for injury and "stunting" of growth is higher in sports than it is in properly supervised resistance training. To ensure a child is receiving safe and proper resistance training check the following:
Choose a qualified instructor with experience, especially with children and youth. Look for someone with a National Strength and Conditioning Association certification.
There should always be a warm-up 5-10 minutes
Clear and simple instructions and movement demonstrations should be given to make sure child understands how to do the exercises properly.
The focus should be on proper technique using light weights or body weight to start with.
As strength improves, resistance or weight can be increased in small steps of 5-10 per cent.
After a training session, there should always be a cool down
Make sure your child wants to train and you are not forcing them