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Parent! Why You Must Have Your Child Strength Train, and Why the Concerns Misled You

/ Coaching, Kids, Training, Youth / By

From as far back as I can remember, strength training for kids was a bad idea. So they said! The confusing part was they never really investigated it enough to make the claims they were. Who are they? Doctors, PT’s, and even Trainers were all saying it can “stunt their growth” and can cause damage to the child’s growth plate.

I recently had an athlete tell me his uncle told him strength training would stunt his growth! Thankfully it is false, and below is way.

Comparison of activities that should alarm us more than strength training has:

  1. Gymnastics
    1. Neck, shoulder, spine, hip, wrists, knees, achilles/ankles are all highly at risk in the sport

      of gymnastics.

    2. An exercise where the gymnastic move requires landing from a jump or dismount there

      can be forces up to 5-times the child’s body weight going through the joints and tissues.

  2. Throwing, Serving, Pitching
    1. Sports like baseball and softball cause the shoulder, elbow, and wrists to manage forces at incredible speeds, never met by strength training exercises
    2. The lack of proper arm mechanics places tremendous stress on all the tissues and joints of the entire arm (wrist, elbow, shoulder…)
  3. Wrestling and Football
    a. These two sports require a high level of physical strength to be successful and safe. b. When athletes are placed in physical positions that over-stretch joints and muscles there is a lot of damage being done (minor to significant amounts).
    c. The collisions that occur from athlete to athlete and athlete to ground are enough to break bones, cause concussions, tear soft tissue, and damage joints.
  4. Basketball and Soccer
    1. The number of ACL injuries alone, that come from these two sports, especially in females, is staggering.
    2. The amount of force going into the ground and the need for joints and muscles to withstand these force to protect the joint and tissues is very high.
  5. Distance Running
    1. Such a seemingly safe activity, but the amount of force traveling through the body on

      every step is staggering.

    2. There are more broken foot bones, low back pain, knee and hip injuries, and tendonitis

      causes by the simple act of “going for a run”

I am not advocating any athlete stop playing sports, namely the ones mentioned above, but when you consider the risk of injury of playing team and individual sports, the risk of injury is so much higher than a well thought out and delivered strength program. On occasion, like any physical activity, kids will get sore or feel a slight aggravation from doing an exercise too much or not as instructed- that’s goes along with any physical activity.

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Benefits of Strength Training for Kids: For a highly respected organization reference-

 

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/tween-and-teen-health/in-depth/strength-training/art- 20047758

  1. Children can learn proper movement patterns such as how to squat, lunge, bend, lift, push, pull, and rotate.
  2. Being able to improve functional range of motion where kids can safely play sports and activities.
  3. Increase central nervous system function, mainly in the form of coordination of inter and intra muscular coordination.
  4. Increase in strength of bones by placing appropriate controlled stress to them.
  5. Increase in tensile strength of muscles and tendons.
  6. Improved function of fascial tissues which connects to every in the body from bones, to muscles,

    to skin, and organs.

  7. Reduction in potential injury due to playing highly physical sports and activities.
  8. Improved physiological function of heart, lungs, and therefore cardio-respiratory and cardio-

    vascular systems.

  9. Improved posture
  10. Improved confidence and self-esteem knowing they can be safe and effective in sports and

    activities.

  11. Ability to off-set bony deformities caused by chronic poor postures from childhood to adults.
  12. Healthy fitness habits throughout life.
  13. Ability to perform high fast athletic movement quicker and safer such as; cutting, jumping,

    landing, spinning, sprinting, accelerating, lateral quickness and change of direction.

  14. Protection against all the forces the team and individual sports cause to muscles, ligaments,

    tendons, and joints.

  15. Reduction in concussions due to proper neck and shoulder strength and stability.
  16. There is becoming more signs that performing strength training with children before and during

    puberty has increased bone strength and growth. To my knowledge this has not been proven but there are more and more cases of professionals reporting their finding on the benefits of strength training and growth of children in a healthy way.

Parents, all of us at Titan’s Performance Center are 100% dedicated to the safety of your child as much as we are the improvement in performance.

Through our research and dedication to our craft and profession we can’t emphasize enough the importance of your child participating in a sound year around strength training program. If we are asked not to have your child perform strength training we feel the risk of injury to your child will rise and that is the last thing we want for you and your child.