“All children start their school careers with sparkling imaginations, fertile minds, and a willingness to take risks with what they think.”

Along with “do your homework” and “eat your vegetables,” “get your exercise” is high on the list of things we’re told we should do in our youth because it’s “good for us.” Unfortunately for many kids, that message is not being delivered effectively. According to a recent Iowa State study, which looked at more than 200,000 students, barely one in eight kids achieved a healthy score as it relates to aerobic capacity, BMI, and upper body strength.

While there is plenty of blame to go around from toxic food, to technology, to parents, the biggest blame lies on the messages being delivered to our youth about exercise. The message kids frequently receive is that exercise is only for athletes, or performing well in a battery of standardized fitness tests. Or we just tell them they should exercise because it’s good for them.

We have an obligation to get our kids moving. To do so, we need to change our message and find better ways to convey why exercise is important. Here are a few of my suggestions for changing the narrative for our youth.

Our kids hate exercise, but love moving. The problem is what we’re teaching them about exercise. [Photo courtesy Pixabay]

It Isn’t About Exercise, It’s About Moving

For young people, exercise usually has something to do with either performing in fitness tests or participating in sports. The problem is, not all kids are athletes, and many don’t find traditional exercise or fitness tests enjoyable. Ask a kid to run a mile or do as many push ups as he or she can in a minute, and the only kids that do well are those that are naturally fast or strong.

But observe a bunch of kids playing on a trampoline and you’ll see one of life’s truisms at work – kids love to move. Kids need to be taught that there are many ways to move your body, and exercise is just one of those ways. Help them discover the movement that best suits them. Says education guru Sir Ken Robinson, “Whether or not you discover your talents and passions is partly a matter of opportunity. If you’ve never been sailing, or picked up an instrument, or tried to teach or to write fiction, how would you know if you had a talent for these things?”

Whether you’re a parent, teacher, coach, or counselor, your job is the same – help kids find the right way to express their physicality through movement. It’s essential that we expose kids to every conceivable movement modality and give them the tools and encouragement to move their bodies frequently.

Find the Way to Move That Moves You

Our educational system has plenty of faults, but perhaps the biggest glaring weakness is its ‘one-size-fits-all’ model. We brainwash our kids to think there is only one way they can get ahead in the world. Not every kid needs a degree to be successful, and not every kid needs to be an athlete to be fit. But every child does need to figure out how best to use their brain and their body to succeed. When it comes to lasting success with exercise, customization is critical.

All kids have the potential to be good at something. The problem in fitness is that we limit exercise to the simple categories of cardio, weights, and sports. Some kids are athletes, some are artists, and some are bookworms. There are physical activities for all of them. Athletes can play football and basketball. Artists can dance and do martial arts. Bookworms can use the power of their minds to move their body through adventure and strategy-based physical activities (think triathlons, adventure racing, or Brazilian jiu jitsu, etc.) Ultimately, kids need to be encouraged to customize their own best way of moving, rather than being told to exercise for the sake of exercise.

Go Ahead and Lift Something

I never lifted weights as a kid. In my formative years of the 1980’s, we were told that kids who lifted weights would stunt their growth. For some, that myth still holds weight. While there is nothing scientifically that corroborates that myth, some still find the thought of muscles and kids to be distasteful.

But regardless of opinion, science shows that kids who lift weights and/or perform resistance activities like jumping actually have better bone density than those who don’t. Furthermore, resistance training early may even help kids lower their risk of chronic pain the future. Kids should lift at all ages but before doing so, they should also be taught proper form and safety in preparation.

It’s Not About Fear

Kids who exercise have greater attention spans, faster cognitive processing speeds, and better performance on tests than kids who are less active. But moving your body isn’t just about being sharper and smarter; it’s about expressing grace, health, and beauty as well.

The problem for many kids (and adults) is that the message they hear is that exercise is the key to losing weight. Instead of framing movement and activity in a positive light and around a sense of purpose, the message kids hear is “get off your lazy butt and exercise.” Scientifically speaking, the message is wrong. While exercise may be an important component of keeping weight off, it isn’t the key component of weight loss. And perhaps more importantly, fear-based motivation doesn’t work. Instead, kids need to be supported and learn that no matter what their body type, or whether they are heavy or lean, there is a way that they can develop their physical skill set.

We need to teach children that fitness and exercise, like education, isn’t simply a means to an end. We need to acknowledge that the current paradigms in fitness aren’t working for our youth. Instead, we need to reframe the messages we deliver to kids around exercise. In the same way that passion and talent will be the keys to unlocking a successful and purposeful career, lasting success with movement and exercise comes down to the same elements – passion and purpose. Kids should be taught that their body, like their mind, is an opportunity to find their bliss and express their true nature. More than anything, kids need to be told to do what they love to do, not what we feel they should do.

And while we’re at it, we need to stop overprotecting the kids, too:

Organized Sports or Trees: Choose Your Risk

The post What Your Kid Needs to Know About Exercise appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

It wasn’t reasonable for me to expect my daughter to come home and sit down to do homework after sitting all day at school and then sitting again for a long car ride home. So we’ve taken a more active approach that has made a world of difference. Here are my four steps to take homework time from hellish to happy.

Step 1: Create a Space

A big part of any practice requiring focus and attention- whether it’s exercise or homework – is preparing a space. Homework used to be done at the kitchen table. That works for some people, but in our family, the kitchen is a loud and busy place. My other two children would often try to “help” their older sister with her homework, which wasn’t helpful at all. Something had to change.

READ: Fight for the Right to Recess: 3 Reasons Kids Need Break Time

Now, homework time happens in a specific room and no one else is allowed to enter. While I’m waiting for my daughter to come home for school, I prepare the room. I clear off some floor space, grab a few beanbags, get pencils and other items ready, and diffuse pick-me-up oils like peppermint or rosemary. I prepare the room in the same way I would prepare a space to do yoga or write an article. I make it quiet, clean, and distraction-free.

“I prepare the room in the same way I would prepare a space to do yoga or write an article. I make it quiet, clean, and distraction-free.”

Clothing is another important aspect of creating space. If you have young children, you know how much their identity revolves around what they are wearing. After school, my daughter puts on her workout outfit to get ready to move before sitting down to tackle homework.

Step 2: Take Time to Breathe

Once the space is ready and the outfit is on, we sit down together and breathe. Breathing is a good way to help your child collect herself and transition into physical activity.

With kids, you don’t have to be fancy. You just want to do a brief breathing practice to help your child focus and center his or her attention. Here’s an example of how I would guide my daughter:

1. Close your eyes and take a deep breath through your nose, all the way into your tummy.
2. Open your mouth and release all the air. Repeat this two more times.
3. Do the same thing, but on the inhale, raise your arms over your head. On the exhale, bring your arms down to your sides. Repeat this three more times.
4. Now inhale deeply through your nose. Exhale softly through your nose. Repeat this three times.
5. Now we are going to count our breathing. Inhale through your nose for three seconds, then breathe out through your nose for three seconds. (Count the breaths out for your child so he or she can focus on breathing deeply).
6. Open your eyes. Smile.

You can use imagery during your breathing practice to help relieve any tension or anxiety your child might be feeling. It might take a little practice, but the benefits are astounding.

RELATED: Diaphragmatic Breathing Reduces Exercise Induced Oxidative Stress

Step Three: Get Moving

A 2014 study of over 200 students ages seven to nine found an after-school physical activity program increased the ability to focus, multitask, and retain information. Not only that, but the intervention also improved conditioning. The researchers concluded:

The current data not only provide causal evidence for the beneficial effects of physical activity (PA) on cognitive and brain health, but they warrant modification of contemporary educational policies and practices, and indicate that youth should receive more daily PA opportunities.

These interventions aren’t just for schools. Adding physical activity to the nightly homework routine has made a huge difference for my daughter. After the breathing practice, take fifteen to twenty minutes to do some kind of physical activity – go for a walk or jog, play tag, work out, or do yoga. If weather permits, get outside for this part. If not, do a bodyweight workout or a yoga sequence.

“A 2014 study of over 200 students ages seven to nine found an after-school physical activity program increased the ability to focus, multitask, and retain information.”

Here’s a simple sequence with kid-friendly stretches and yoga poses. As shown in the pictures, my daughter and I always face each other during this practice. This allows you to hold hands and maintain eye contact. This will keep your child engaged and make it more fun for both of you.

Seated Stretches

• Shoulder shrugs
• Neck stretch – side to side, roll from one shoulder to the other
• Easy seated twists
• Butterfly stretch
• Straddle stretch

Kneeling Stretches

• Dynamic movement from lunge to runner’s stretch (pictured below)
• Stay in modified crescent lunge with arms overhead for 10 seconds (pictured below)
• Frog squat – 10 seconds (pictured below)

Repeat this sequence three times

Lunge to runner’s stretch (top); modified crescent lunge (bottom)

Frog Squat

Standing Poses

• Assisted half chair pose (pictured below)
• Forward fold – allow your child’s torso to rest on her thighs (pictured below)
• Assisted warrior I (pictured below)

Repeat this sequence three times

Assisted half chair pose

Forward fold

Getting into Warrior I by holding hands

Warrior I

Step Four: Align the Spine

After your physical activity is over, it’s time to transition into homework mode. Creating space and alignment in the spine will help your child to sit back down and do homework with good posture. Add the following movements to the yoga sequence above or do them after any other activity.

• Leaning tower: Hold hands and stand up straight. Lean back as far as you can while keeping the spine straight, then come back together to stand up straight. This is a fun exercise that helps release tension. It also requires balance and coordination.

• Unlock your knees: My daughter is a chronic knee locker, just like her mom. Practice standing straight and tall while relaxing the knees.

• Hang like a puppet: Have your child fold all the way forward while you support her front ribs and low back, as pictured below. Then have her come up until her spine is extended, supporting her all the way up. Repeat this movement several times, cuing her to breathe deeply. This will help your child become more aware of what her spine feels like when it is rounded and extended.

• Assisted half chair pose with spinal movement: Another way to help your child feel spinal alignment. Help your child experiment with rounding the spine and backbending while she is in a slight chair pose.

Left: Backbend; Center: Neutral spine; Right: Rounded spine

Now it’s time to go get a cup of peppermint tea, take out the backpack, and go over the homework for the evening. If you’re like me, you will take advantage of this quiet room and stay there. The benefits work both ways!

The day after we did this for the first time, my daughter came home excited to do her homework. Yes, I just used the words “excited” and “homework” in the same sentence. As with most things, the right combination of routine, fun, and movement have made an almost miraculous difference.

Do your kids struggle with homework? How have you made it more manageable for you and for them? Share in the comments below.

Photo 1 courtesy of Shutterstock.

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Achilles Anatomy

The Achilles tendon is a strong, fibrous band that attaches the calf muscle to the heel. The calf muscle is made up of two muscles, the soleus and the gastrocnemius. Together, these two muscles form the gastroc-soleus muscle group.

When the gastroc-soleus muscle group contracts, it pulls up on the Achilles tendon, causing the foot to point down. This powerful contraction helps us rise on our toes, which aids in walking, sprinting, jumping, and climbing.

RELATED: A 5-Step Approach to Training During Adolescent Growth Spurts

Several problems, ranging from mile to severe, can affect the Achilles tendon. Specifically, this article will address the role of the Achilles tendon in diagnosing and treating Sever’s disease (calcaneal apopyhsis), which can affect girls and boys during adolescent growth spurts (AGS).

What Is Sever’s Disease?

During AGS, and in specific reference to Sever’s disease, the heel bone grows faster than the Achilles tendon, resulting in an extremely tight Achilles tendon. Because the foot is one of the first parts of the body to grow to full size, and because the heel is not a very flexible area, it is especially susceptible to injury.

The Achilles tendon (also called the heel cord) is the strongest tendon that attaches to the growth plate in the heel. Over time, repeated stress (such as impact activities) on the tight Achilles tendon causes the tendon to pull on and damage the growth plate in the heel, resulting in swelling, tenderness, and pain.

There are several theories surrounding the cause of Sever’s disease. These range from a tight Achilles tendon, to micro stress fractures of the heel, to biomechanical mal-alignment, to trauma, to flat feet, and even to obesity. But the prevailing theory suggests the onset of Sever’s disease occurs when the child’s growth plate is at its weakest, while a tightened Achilles tendon pulls repeatedly on the growth plate, such as during AGS.

Symptoms and Diagnosis

Sever’s disease is a clinical diagnosis based on the youth’s presenting symptoms, rather than on diagnostic tests. While x-rays may be ordered in the process of diagnosing the disease, they are used primarily to rule out bone fractures or other bone abnormalities, rather than to confirm the disease.

Common Characteristics of Sever’s Disease:

• Posterior inferior heel pain
• Pain is usually absent when waking in the morning
• Increased pain with weight bearing, running, or jumping (or activity-related pain)
• Area often feels stiff or inflexible
• Youth may limp at the end of physical activity
• Tenderness at the insertion of the tendons
• Limited ankle dorsiflexion range that is secondary to tightness of the Achilles tendon

Activity or sport practices on hard surfaces can also contribute to pain, as well as poor quality shoes, worn out shoes, or the wrong shoes for the sport. Typically, the pain from this disease gradually resolves with rest.

RELATED: High Tops Are Ruining Your Kids’ Feet and Knees

Who Is at Risk for Sever’s Disease

Thedisease is most likely to occur during AGS. For girls, growth spurts usually occur between the ages of eight and thirteen. For boys, growth spurts usually occur between the ages of ten and fifteen.

“Because the foot is one of the first parts of the body to grow to full size, and because the heel is not a very flexible area, it is especially susceptible to injury.”

According to the Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association, 2-16% of athlete boys aged seven to fifteen and athlete girls aged five to thirteen are diagnosed with Sever’s Disease on a yearly basis. Because the back of the heel hardens and becomes stronger when it finishes growing, Sever’s disease rarely occurs in older adolescents and teenagers.

RELATED: Kobe Bryant’s Achilles Injury: Why It Happened and What We Can Learn

How to Treat Sever’s Disease

The disease can be treated easily and is considered to be temporary, if treated promptly and correctly. If left untreated or if treated improperly, the disease can result in a permanent heel deformity, causing future shoe-fitting difficulties. Other long-term effects can include foot arch problems, potentially resulting in plantar fasciitis or heel spurs and tight calf musculature, which can lead to Achilles tendonitis.

“If a youth athlete complains of heel pain or Achilles tendon pain, seek medical advice for diagnosis, pain management, and a recovery plan.”

The American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons recommends the following steps, once Sever’s disease has been diagnosed:

• Reduce or stop any activity that causes pain
• Temporary shoe inserts or custom orthotic devices may provide support for the heel
• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, may help reduce the pain and inflammation
• Stretching and/or physical therapy may be used to promote healing
• In severe cases, a cast may be used to keep the foot and ankle immobilized during the healing process

Preventing Sever’s Disease

Because there are several theories as to the actual cause of the disease, there is no definitive answer on prevention. Experts agree, though, that youth athletes can help minimize the risk of Sever’s disease by maintaining good joint and muscle flexibility while engaging in sports or physical activities.

READ: Understanding and Caring for Your Feet

Additionally, foot arch problems, such as flat feet, should be identified and addressed by a medical professional prior to AGS. Finally, and most importantly, if a youth athlete complains of heel pain or Achilles tendon pain, seek medical advice for diagnosis, pain management, and a recovery plan. Most youth are able to return to their sport or activity as soon as their symptoms go away.

Receiving the initial diagnosis of Sever’s disease can be scary, and while the situation is painful, there is good news. If treated properly and quickly, Sever’s disease is temporary and will have no long-term effects on the athlete.

References

1. Miami Sports Medicine. “Achilles Tendon Injuries,” Accessed 30 November 2014.

2. American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS), “Calcaneal Apophysitis (Sever’s Disease),” Accessed 30 November 2014.

3. New England Foot and Ankle. “Children’s Heel Pain – Sever’s Disease,” Accessed 30 November 2014.

4. Kid’s Health. “Sever’s Disease,” Accessed 30 November 2014.

5. McCarty, Chip, M.Ed., A.T. “Heel Pain in the Young Athlete,” Accessed 30 November 2014.

6. Miller, John. “Sever’s Disease,” Accessed 1 December 2014.

7. Scharfbillig, RW., Jones, S. Scutter, SD. “Sever’s Disease: What Does the Literature Really Tell Us?” Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association. May/June 2008; 98:3:221-223. Reviewed by Dianne Mitchell, DPM. Accessed 30 November 2014.

8. Tassignon Bruno and Maarten Cnudde. “Sever’s disease,” Accessed 30 November 2014.

Photos 1, 2, and 4 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 3 by Nevit Dilmen [CC-BY-SA-3.0} via Wikimedia Commons.

The post Sever’s Disease: The Pain of Adolescent Growth Spurts appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

In previous articles, I explained how the Montessori concept of “following the child” can be applied in both a school environment and a fitness environment. I also discussed how foundational training is important in both the classroom and the fitness world.

Now let’s look at another Montessori idea that can be applied to the fitness and sports arenas: preparing the environment.

In a Montessori classroom, many of the materials are prepared with children in mind. Note, this does not mean “child-proof” materials such as unbreakable tumblers, condescending gadgets, and other garishly colored plastic materials.

Instead, real materials are used to teach children the real consequences of their actions, but scaled down to fit child-sized hands.

You’ll find small glasses made of real glass and small metal forks, spoons, and sometimes even knives. Tables are at an adult’s knee height or smaller, sinks are lower, and toilets are smaller. Materials are laid out in trays and workspaces at the child’s height to make it easy to access and return materials.

Once the students understand the reality, power, and responsibility that goes with such a special environment, they care for and love their classrooms, with nary a Power Ranger, neon toy, or Snoopy in sight.

The Montessori classroom is appealing to the students because it is inviting and empowering.

They feel welcomed and respected in their classroom, and they are encouraged to take ownership of it. This same idea can easily be applied to fitness facilities and sports. However, finding age-appropriate equipment is a challenging area, especially for weight training coaches.

Materials and Equipment: A Challenge for Coaches

The plain and simple truth is, a lot of fitness equipment isn’t made for children’s usage.

Bars are too thick, and standard Olympic bars are often too long and too heavy for new trainees. For shorter children, even the standard size 20kg/45lb plate is too large, although perhaps not due to weight (I’ve known some very strong shorter lifters), but because the bar is just too high for them.

While there are options like shorter bars or aluminum shafted bars, they can be rather expensive, and unless you happen to own a profitable facility, you may not be able to purchase them.

Montessori teachers face the same challenges. Specifically made Montessori materials are a niche market, with manufacturers usually commanding premium prices for their craft. Math beads, science materials, and other items can run into the hundreds of dollars each.

Most teachers compromise, buying what they cannot replicate themselves and being creative with substitutes for the rest. You’d be surprised at how many seats for preschoolers can be made from paper milk cartons, duct tape, construction paper, and a bit of laminating film.

The same thing can be done for children’s fitness. Here are some inexpensive ways to prepare the environment for kids’ fitness:

• Homemade Heavy Bag: With some duct tape, old clothes, and a single duffel bag (I used a clothes storage bag, the vacuum type), you can make a tackling dummy/heavy bag/lifting bag for kids for less than $10.00. I stuffed mine with the outgrown baby clothes and cloth diapers my son used (after a thorough washing).
• Homemade Sandbags: Sand is another great option for providing materials for construction. It’s cheap, it’s heavy, and you can get it just about anywhere. Fill some bags with sand, and let your kids start with lifting those.
• Bars: Barbells are harder to replicate. Unless you are a machinist, making bars for children that can handle normal plates is difficult. However, dip bars, pull up bars, and fixed weight bars are a more practical and attainable option.

• Rings, Ropes, and Bands: Rings are another fun option and are pretty easy to get your hands on. Ropes and bands are some of my other childrens’ weight lifting options. They’re lightweight, flexible, moveable, and again, often cheap. Ropes make a great option for most pulling exercises. You can tie them to almost any form of resistance to make pulling sleds or other options for leg work. And even the smallest hands can easily grip bands, making pushing, pulling, and twisting exercises easy.
• Bodyweight: Of course, bodyweight itself is one of the greatest exercise tools. The ability to vary angles, positions, and timing makes the possibilities almost infinite. It falls to the teacher to make sure that the exercises are scaled properly to the child’s level of coordination and fitness.

In the end, preparing the environment is key for creating fun, engaging children’s fitness programs.

The biggest piece of advice I can offer is to use your imagination. Use everyday objects, especially ones that look realistic or are made from objects children would use in their play.

Pulling sleds that look like cars (a great second life for an old wagon, tricycle, or other device) or throwing medicine balls that are made from basketballs are a few creative ideas.

Use your imagination and prepare the fitness environment to be safe, challenging, and scaled not only to the child’s physical ability, but also to his or her mindset.

Photo 1 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 1 courtesy of CrossFit LA Kids.

The post Inexpensive, Easy Ways to Prepare the Fitness Environment for Kids appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

What Are f-Shoulders?

If you look at a child from the side, you will notice that starting at about the mid back, the body takes a curve forward, ending in a head that is held a few inches in front of the collarbones. Overall, the child’s body is shaped like a lowercase “f.”

The problem has numerous causes. Too many hours spent hunched over desks in school, furiously bubbling multiple choice test sheets. Too many hours spent hunched over a video game controller or tablet computer of some type, gaming their lives away. Not enough hours spent using their bodies.

Ramifications of f-Shoulders

These habits affect general health as well as athletic performance. In addition to increased chances of joint pain (specifically shoulder, neck, and low back pain), there are increased risks of injury, as well as decreased performance potential. After all, how can a football player block, or a baseball player swing a bat, or a tennis player get the most out of a swing of the racket if his or her back and shoulder muscles are weak and misaligned?

Treating the root causes of f-shoulders is essential. However, not everyone has available, or is willing to tolerate, a Shaolin monk who whacks their children with a stick every time their shoulders drop out of alignment. As coaches and parents, our best chance of making a positive change lies intreating the musculature itself. Stretching the pectoral region, as well as and strengthening the posterior chain and upper back muscles, will dramatically affect what the body looks like and how it performs.

Row, Row, Row Your Kids

For me, no movement hits the posterior chain and muscles in the upper back better than horizontal rows. What makes rows so awesome is that there are so many different variations. Bodyweight, rope, bar, barbell, dumbbell, banded, machine, cables – you name it, there’s probably a row variation that exists for it. The row is perfect for working posture because not only does it require retraction of the shoulder blades, but most variations also require stabilization from the lower back and abdominals. So not only do you get strengthening of the shoulders and upper back, you get postural practice and stabilization practice for the posterior chain. More bang for your training buck!

So what are the best rows for kids and teens? Here are my recommendations, in order of progression.

1. Supported Dumbbell Rows

Supported dumbbell rows are perhaps the best way to introduce row to trainees. The ability to support the non-working hand on the child’s knee or a bench allows for greater safety and support. I like introducing the supported row early, because for children who do not have the strength to do any of the following rows, this exercise is infinitely and easily scalable, from one pound to Hulk Smash. For kids, there is no reason yet for Kroc Rows or other super-heavy cheated rep rows.

2. Body Rows on the Bar

What I love about these is that they are scalable depending on the strength of the trainee. You can start with your feet on the floor, your feet on a bench, or even change the difficulty based off of the height of the bar. One negative aspect is that the hand placement can definitely affect the pull. If the hands are too wide, getting your body to the bar is difficult. In addition, pull location is important. I prefer to place the hands in between the xiphoid process and the nipples, using an overhand grip and trying to touch the body to the bar. If that still proves difficult, try using a neutral grip (hands facing each other), although this would require two bars or some other type of parallel grip setup. Using a reverse (palms up) grip targets the biceps more, but I don’t like the stress on the biceps tendon this position can create.

3. Suspended Rows

A variation on the body row, the unstable pulling surface adds a fun challenge. I find this is great mixed with other rows, either as a warm-up or as a finisher. TRX or other suspended rows are also the easiest way to mix in one-handed body rows, as the automatic supination of the wrist allows for the greatest strength curve of the arm.

4. Chest Supported Rows

This is my favorite movement for introducing bilateral barbell rows. Be careful that the trainee fits the machine. Shorter children could end up with a face full of chest pad, and a bar path that is too high. Of course, the tendency to relax the lower back is obvious here, but still a good introduction.

5. Barbell Rows

I love this lift, whether it be Pendlay Rows, Yates Rows, or anything in between. However I also understand how challenging they can be. Barbell rows are notoriously easy to cheat, and it is notoriously easy to screw yourself up by letting your inner bro take over, sacrificing trunk stability for a few pounds on the bar. Until your child or teen is ready and able to stabilize properly, hold off on this variation.

6. Face Pulls

These are super easy to do, and a staple of many powerlifters’ pre-hab and rehab routines. I personally think you should avoid adding these in until the other lifts are mastered, due to limited carryover to real life movements.

Rowing in Your Workouts

So, what is the best way to incorporate rows into your kids programs? I like to mix them up with real-life challenges in my kids classes and with personal training clients. I use them about two times a week as the primary lifts. In a recent kids’ class, our students started off with three sets of twenty seconds on the body row. After that they did relay races involving pulling a tire arm-over-arm, then ran the tire back to the starting point. In total, our kids probably did over 100 repetitions of a loaded rowing motion in just those exercises, in addition to our normal gymnastic work.

For coaches who are looking at incorporating rows into weight training, keep the total reps in the 50-75 range, with the primary focus on form. Get those shoulder blades retracted, and keep the trunk stable. I like to keep it in the ten-rep range for kids, not only because it makes the math easy (good for me!), but also because it’s a good number that requires a decent weight. It’s not high enough to make it a rep race, which can cause kids to sacrifice form for speed or reps.

Sample Program to Combat f-Shoulders

Here’s an example program with sets and reps that is easy to incorporate with kids. I limit it to two exercises, in order to keep time down, while also allowing full-body training. This workout focuses on pulling and limits the pushing to allow the body to rebalance itself.

1. Dumbbell Rows: 3×10, 60 seconds rest between sets, no rest between hands.

2. Push Ups: 3×30 second set, 30 seconds rest. (I put push ups here because of the large amounts of stabilization and lat activation needed to do them properly)

3a. Bounding Skips: 4 x 10 meters, supersetted with

3b. Standing One-Arm Band Rows: 4 x 12 (Be super strict on form. Time for swinging and yanking like a judo player comes later.)

4. Weighted Step Ups: 5 x 30 seconds

So let’s get our kids rowing and fight those f-shoulders! You’ll soon see heads up, chests out, and shoulders back. Your kids will look taller and perform at a higher level. What could be better?

Photos 1 and 4 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 2 and 3 courtesy of CrossFit LA Kids.

The post 6 Exercises to Fight Bad Posture in Kids appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

In the study, Spanish children were categorized as having either high or low aerobic capacity and musculoskeletal capacity. Each of these categories was then compared to several health factors, including happiness and nutrition.

Low aerobic fitness was associated significantly with every factor for poor health the researchers studied. Namely, the less aerobically fit the children were, the less happy they reported being. Kids who were less fit were also more likely to engage in activities that were bad for their health (especially smoking), and less likely to eat well. In this study, the researchers considered “eating well” to be the Mediterranean diet. Strength, power, and coordination were associated with a happier life, particularly when it came to lower body strength.

One oddity in the results was that grip strength, a test often used to determine total body strength, was positively correlated with increased consumption of alcohol. In other words, the stronger a child’s grip, the more likely they were to consume alcohol. The researchers admitted that results in regards to alcohol consumption have been mixed in the past, but that it seems physical activity may not necessarily protect kids against alcohol consumption. The researchers hypothesized that stronger children are more likely to be involved in team sports, and thus more likely to be exposed to alcohol use through socialization.

For concerned parents and coaches, there is a lesson to learn from the hand grip test. Fitness does appear to protect against smoking, and this is likely due to the well-known effects of smoking on performance. However, children may be less aware of the deleterious effects of alcohol on performance. In addition to educating children on the harmful effects of alcohol on health, it may be important to teach how it can also impact sports performance, a more immediate concern that might better reach youth athletes.

Aside from the hand grip test, fitter and stronger kids tended to be healthier and happier. As important as these results are, we have to acknowledge the difference between correlation and causation. These children might have had good fitness because of some unstudied variable, such as genetics, and for that same reason they also had better attitudes. Although the scope of this study was too limited to determine whether some unknown factor was at play, there is good reason to believe fitness levels can indeed cause, and not just correlate to, greater happiness, fewer health risk factors, and better diet adherence. Fitness fosters a better neurochemical and hormonal balance that, in no uncertain terms, alters your perception of the world for the better.

Youth athletics is a critical component for the health of children, and now we are armed with even more information than before of just how good it is. However, parents and coaches should further safeguard their kids against risk factors by fostering childrens’ interests in health, fitness, and performance.

References:

1. Alberto Grao-Cruces, et. al., “Association of fitness with life satisfaction, health risk behaviors, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet in Spanish adolescents,” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000363

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

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This leads to the question, when is a young athlete ready for certain techniques? Some critics point to Tara Lipinski’s numerous hip problems (her professional competitive career ended in 2002, only four years after her gold medal in 1998) as the result of too many high-impact triple jumps sustained at too young an age. Even within similar spots, one branch might allow certain techniques, while another does not. In competitive judo, all chokes are banned in competition under the age of thirteen and arm bars are not allowed until the age of seventeen.² Meanwhile, Brazilian jiu jitsu sometimes allows certain submissions as early as four years old.³ And of course, the age-old debate of children and weight training rages on, with coaches on one side holding to the idea that youngsters shouldn’t use barbells until their teens, while the other side points to Chinese “schools” that have children as young as eight years old doing snatches, cleans, and front squats with weights that would make many adults sweat. It can get a bit confusing, to say the least.

So, what is a parent to do? The best thing to do for a young athlete is to evaluate them in the following three categories:

1. Physical

Is your child’s body physically ready for the activity? Children mature at different rates. In baseball, some children cannot handle the shoulder stresses of learning to throw curveballs and other off-speed pitches until their high school years. Sadly, many coaches and parents don’t recognize this, and the result has been a large increase in shoulder and arm surgeries on children. Some children are not ready for the intense joint stresses that come with competitive gymnastics, the pounding of football, or being a competitive swimmer. My own cousins were both Junior Olympic volleyball players until back and shoulder problems retired them before they finished high school. Rushing into an activity the child is not physically ready for will do nothing but set him or her up for failure down the road in the form of (sometimes permanent) injury.

2. Emotional

Does your child want to do the activity? Can he or she handle the competitive stress? Your child might be perfectly made to wrestle, might have all the physical tools, but if he or she isn’t able to handle the physical nature of the sport emotionally, then it’s not the right choice. Find another healthy activity that your child wants to enjoy.

3. Mental

Children may be physically able to handle the stress of an activity or sport, and they may want to do the sport, but if they are not able to handle the mental discipline of what it takes at a certain level in the sport, then they aren’t ready yet. For your little Olympic-hopeful figure skater, discipline can mean waking up at 5:00AM six days a week to get in ice time before school and then another two hours after school. For your wrestler, it means foregoing outings with friends to the local burger joint for months on end. This is perhaps the biggest challenge for kids. The list of potential sport world champions who didn’t make it due to mental issues is longer than the New York City phone book.

So, let’s say that your kid is fine all three categories. He or she is physically, emotionally, and mentally ready for the activity, or the technique within an activity. What now? As both a coach and a parent, I offer the following hints:

1. Go Slow

So your kid is ready to try that cool skateboarding trick. Great. No need to drop them down the X-Games ramp tomorrow. Take it slow. To borrow a phrase from weightlifting, “Leave two in the tank.” Better to take an extra month to learn how to do that trick, throw that curveball, or tackle properly, than to cut a career short due to preventable injury.

2. Keep Watch and Check Your Vicarious Ego

I understand. I look at my own son and think, “When he’s got that NFL contract…” or, “When he is deadlifting a Volkswagen…” but that doesn’t mean I need to start living through him. It’s tough. Coaches know even one successful and famous student or team guarantees them a job for years (and sometimes even a career). Players want to emulate their heroes as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, someone has to watch out for the player. That’s your job. You sometimes have to be the bad guy and protect your child. Yeah, it sucks, and if your athlete is a teen or pre-teen, you might be in for some epic tear-filled rants that probably should be on the CW network. But, that’s your job as a parent.

3. Prepare, and Prepare Again

The worst feeling I ever had in judo was a match I had soon after I came to Japan. The young man across the mat from me was skilled on his feet, but when we hit the mat, I quickly took his back and sunk in a deep kata-ha-jime, or chicken-wing lapel choke. I held the choke until the ref stepped in, with the other player never tapping out. After the match, I saw the young man crying and holding his throat, which bore a startlingly scarlet abrasion from his collar. I learned he was only fourteen years old and in his first competition that allowed chokes. His teacher had not even taught him when to tap out. He was sent into the tournament woefully unprepared. Prepare your child ahead of time. If competition rules allow something at age ten, start your child learning them at age nine. If your child isn’t ready at that time, then delay competition until he or she is ready.

4. Technique Is Paramount

There is a time and place for an athlete to go Hulk Smash and let technique slide a bit in favor of unadulterated physical intensity. If the heavyweight championship of the world is on the line against Apollo Creed, then, “Go for it, Rock!” That being said, children’s competition isn’t that time or place. This is especially true when we are talking about things such as weight training and contact sports such as martial arts and football. It might make for slow progress in the early years, but the strong foundation of technique that such training lays down will pay dividends for years to come.

So, is your child ready? As I said, evaluate your children using the three areas I talked about above in the realm of their sport, and then follow the four guidelines in implementing new activity or skill. Not only will you find your child will continue to enjoy his or her chosen activity for years and years, but he or she will experience both physical and emotional benefit.

References:

1. Barthworks. “Selected Figure Skating Rules.” Accessed 15 January, 2014.

2. International Judo Federation. “IJF Refereeing Rules 2011-12.” Accessed 15 January, 2014.

3. Prodigy Mixed Martial Arts. “BJJ Competition Rule Summary.” Accessed 15 January, 2014.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

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This conclusion came from the analysis of data from over fifty studies involving over 25 million children worldwide between the ages of nine and seventeen. “What is going on there?” my friend asked. We talked about various theories, from genetically modified and processed food to video games. Perhaps the Internet and social media are keeping kids sedentary, we hypothesized. Perhaps kids are simply overweight and therefore out of shape. I am sure all of the aforementioned are factors. Still, the query remains. Why are kids slower than they used to be and what can we do about it?

How can it be that kids have gotten slower in a day an age when everything else is getting faster? For starters, it stands to reason that if people (and kids) are more overweight, then they are going to tend to be slower. There are exceptions to that statement and I wouldn’t want to offend any NFL lineman that could certainly kick my butt in a sprint, but then again, I might take my chances against a 300-pounder in a mile run. Are people bigger, yet stronger, and also slower? The study didn’t say, but kids are certainly slower, a full minute and a half in the mile. This fact is both substantial and alarming as well as unacceptable.

This data flies in the face of conventional wisdom, which says we as humans only go one direction – upwards and or forwards. Technology improves and people get faster. We have witnessed this with sport and fitness for years as record upon record is broken and new standards are set. Decade after decade, people become faster and stronger. Britain’s Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile in 1954 and 45 years later in 1999 the world record was a full seventeen seconds faster at 3:43, set by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morooco. Will we see such trends disappear?

Said another way, are we now perhaps over the bell-curve of human achievement in sport and fitness? Not likely, as the studies represent general trends and don’t reflect the extremes of the spectrum that elite athletes represent. There are still plenty of hyper-fit people at one end of the spectrum. But this disparity between the elite and the average is a danger to us all, fit and fat alike. Those of us on the hyper-fit end of the spectrum need to step up and start sharing the wealth.

I was hired by MTV a couple of years back to participate as a trainer for their inaugural season of I Used To Be Fat. The show, produced by the same company as The Biggest Loser, was supposedly going to highlight the burgeoning problem of childhood obesity by having trainers partner up with overweight teens to help them lose weight. Jamie Oliver took a similar theme to television with his outstanding show, Jamie OIiver’s Food Revolution. My show lasted one season. Amazingly, Jamie Oliver’s show lasted two, but ultimately it too was cancelled, as the American public demanded more Dancing with the Stars instead. While television shows and books are fine tools to educate, they are opt-in or opt-out the same way we ultimately do with exercise.

The plight of our children getting fatter, sicker, and now slower is no longer new news. Still, it’s important news and something must be done. There are examples of others ringing the alarm, but evidently this alarm falls upon deaf ears. If people are given the choice, they seemingly will choose Facebook over exercise and American Idol over The Food Revolution. We need to inform our citizenry, but apparently our citizenry is turning the channel. In fighting this battle of the bulge, “education is the key” is an often-used phrase, but how to educate is the question that doesn’t have an easy answer.

The time has come for action. It’s no longer enough to say it’s up to families to change their eating and exercise habits. What’s needed is action both on a personal and on a policy level. All of us need to get involved and not just pass the buck by stating the obvious – that everyone has a choice to be fit or not. Kids need help, not just a lecture that it’s up to them or their parents.

• We need to lobby our congressmen, senators, and local politicians to stand up to processed food and get people moving.
• We all need to collectively demand that physical education be a requirement at every school in every community. Period. We can’t afford such a luxury in our schools with our current economy you say? How can we afford not to have it?
• We need to volunteer in our communities. Fitness needs to be taught and encouraged everywhere – Yes, community organizations like the YMCA, but also fitness needs to be taught in the home, at school, and even at church.
• Incentives. Everyone likes them. Money talks, and people and kids need positive reinforcement (and negative). Kids score well on the mile test – pay ‘em. They do poorly? Penalty – it goes on their transcript. ‘Every kid gets a trophy’ has been a colossal failure as a mantra in our culture. Kids need to be taught that it’s an advantage to be fit, healthy, able to run a fast mile. Conversely, it’s dangerous to be overweight.
• Those of us in the fitness industry have a responsibility to share the wealth and not just cater to those who are already fit. We as the fitness industry need to step up and start encouraging (and allowing) kids to exercise. I cringed when I first heard about CrossFit Kids, but after thinking about it, I thought, “Good for them.” The potential benefits far outweigh the risks.

At my company we don’t allow anyone under sixteen to exercise in our program. Such liability-inspired rules need to be reevaluated. I am going to bring the fight to our company and see about creating a kids fitness program or classes to teach kids the joy of exercise. It’s one thing for adults to be out of shape, sedentary, or overweight, but the fact that our kids are now developing diabetes and getting slower is appalling. We have a responsibility to protect children – all of us. We have to step up as a society and care for our children and get them well.

References:

1. Roberts, Michelle. “Many Children Slower Runners Than Their Parents Were.” BBC.oc.uk, November 19, 2013.

Photos courtesy of CrossFit LA.

The post Kids Are Fatter, Sicker, and Slower – What Can We Do About It? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Traditional resistance training methods, which are essentially basic weight lifting programs, are thought to be good for kids because of their proven track record. In addition, traditional weight lifting favors the development of lean muscle mass and strength. In theory, this effect would help child athletes perform better at their sport.

The second group of exercises the researchers studied was plyometrics. Plyometric exercises are seen as closer to what an athlete actually experiences when competing. The basic idea with plyometrics is to develop power, and this end is achieved by mimicking reactions that occur normally in sports.

The Olympic lifts are a hybridization of traditional weight lifting and plyometrics. They combine the advantages of weight lifting, like structured progression, with the fast power development of plyometrics. The downside of the Olympic lifts, however, is that out of these three categories, they are the most complex to perform safely.

The kids who participated in the study were pre-teens, ranging from ten to twelve years old. They had not completed a structured fitness program in the past. For twelve weeks, they either completed one of these programs, or they were in a control group that did not do any of these programs. The participants were tested before the program and again after they had completed it.

Each of the three training programs outperformed the control group, which was no surprise. When compared to the traditional weight lifting program, Olympic lifting and plyometrics caused a greater increase in performance in almost every category, including force production, power production, and speed. Since plyos and Olympic lifts are similar to many of the variables the researchers tested, that’s not much of a surprise. However, the plyos and Olympic lifting also increased force production, which is a bit more surprising. You would think that resistance training would work better for force production, but not according to this study.

Despite the authors’ assurances that these methods are completely safe, they also acknowledge the time it takes to learn the Olympic lifts. I have worked with countless kids, and many times enforcing safe form can be difficult. I think the researchers’ recommendations might be a bit liberal, especially in the case of group weight training, where it’s harder to ensure proper form. But it seems that performance-wise, Olympic lifts and plyos might be better for kids after all. With good coaching, these training approaches can be safe as well.

References:

1. Anis Chaouachi, et. al., “Olympic weightlifting and plyometric training with children provides similar or greater performance improvements than traditional resistance training,” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000305

Photo courtesy of CrossFit LA.

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There’s a lot to be said about how your daily activities will affect outcomes like how overweight you might get. And I don’t mean just your eating habits, I mean anything you do that even seems unrelated to weight gain on the surface. That might sound a little suspect, but think about what you do for work.

Many people in office settings might tend to snack because of easy access. Or think about what happens when you go out more often for social activities. It’s a mentally strong person indeed who can avoid increasing calories when hanging out more with friends or during the holidays.

Conditions that cause overeating don’t get enough attention in the scientific literature.

There’s a lot of focus on diets themselves, but less on what triggers eating to begin with. A recent study in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity looked at a few of these factors.

Namely the researchers in this study examined the effects on kids of skipping meals and watching television while eating.

These kids averaged eleven years old, but I think the results are compelling for people of any age. After all, adults are probably just better at tricking themselves into thinking they watch less TV than children do, so the results might be even more apt for adults.

First, the researchers found that skipping breakfast or dinner increased the odds the kids were overweight.

With the recent popularity of intermittent fasting, it bears mentioning that the act of skipping a meal itself doesn’t make you more likely to be fat, no matter the dogma about the importance of breakfast.

Because the data was self-reported, it’s probable that kids who say they skip meals are also those that replace it with over-processed garbage and sugary drinks.

I could go on and on about skipping meals or not, and the effects that has on health and bodyweight, but the real compelling stuff in this study was the part about watching TV.

Children who never watched TV during lunch and dinner were less likely to be overweight.

Now we can easily say that this is for socioeconomic reasons and there is probably some truth to that. Maybe kids with less money are both more likely to watch TV and also more likely to eat unhealthy foods. There might not be any real cause and effect, but I think we should all look at our children and ourselves and consider the alternatives.

Perhaps sitting in front of the TV encourages eating for a longer period of time or causes a reduced sensitivity to feelings of satiety.

The researchers note that a prevalence of commercials showing energy-dense food might actually increase the effect of watching TV on body weight, so economic reasons might not be enough to explain the entire effect.

As I noted earlier, studies like this are difficult to do right but point to a higher truth. If our goal is to be healthy, we need to think about more than just what we are eating.

References:

1. Frøydis N Vik, et. al., “Associations between eating meals, watching TV while eating meals and weight status among children, ages 10–12 years in eight European countries: the ENERGY cross-sectional study,” International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2013, 10:58

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

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PHA may sound curiously similar to circuit training, GPP (General Physical Preparedness), and other modern-day protocols, but differs in that PHA’s emphasis is in not bringing a localized pump to the muscles. This was and is a desirable factor for bodybuilders in particular, but is also an effective method for making exercise more tolerable for youngsters, as well as older adults looking to include some type of fitness into their life. For young people, not having to experience that uncomfortable feeling in their muscles is less distracting when moving around quickly, which is a huge plus for their compliance in an exercise program. Offering this “diversion” if you will of not feeling so unpleasant makes fitness more enjoyable and productive.

Peripheral Heart Action: An Old School Approach

The approach to PHA training is quite simple. You choose exercises that will allow you to pump blood to extreme ends of the body so blood doesn’t localize and develop “the burn.” This is where PHA differs in comparison to many circuit-type training regimens. A typical PHA workout has an individual using a handful of exercises that stress the upper and lower musculature, with the intention of alternating one exercise for the upper torso and one for the lower extremities – or at least not focusing in the same area as the previous movement. Traditional methods for a PHA workout would emphasize using five to six movements for five to six cycles with an increase in resistance for each cycle.

For instance, here is a sample PHA workout:

• Standing Press (barbell, dumbbell, sandbag, machine, kettlebell)
• Squat (barbell, dumbbell, sandbag, machine, kettlebell, trapbar)
• Abdominal Crunch (body, dumbbell, suspension apparatus)
• Chin-up (body, machine, assisted)
• Standing Calf Raise (barbell, dumbbell, sandbag, kettlebell)
• Dip (body, machine, assisted)

Each exercise would be performed for 10-12 repetitions (more if you like) with the trainee moving swiftly from one exercise to the next (not through the exercise itself) – resting only long enough to get to the next movement. After the first cycle, a short rest should be taken – maybe one to two minutes – and there should be an increase to the resistance for each consecutive cycle. No sets are taken to muscular fatigue/failure and the last cycle should be challenging. This workout should last about 35-45 minutes, depending on your level of fitness and proximity of the exercises being used.

For those of you who find this to be too much volume of work, an abbreviated version can be utilized. Again, using five to six select movements choose a weight you can perform an all out set of ten reps with and use approximately 75-80% of that weight for three cycles. There is no “ramp up” and you can eliminate two of the cycles. Three rounds or cycles of six movements should take an individual 25-30 minutes or less to perform.

Mini-Cycles

While PHA can be very effective and convenient for the home user, in outdoor training, and in the less crowded facilities, it can be tough in a busy commercial environment. This is where mini-cycles can be utilized. Take three movements that are close in proximity and perform three cycles then proceed to another three different movements for a second mini cycle. A mini cycle might look like this.

Mini Cycle #1:

• Standing Press
• Split Squat or Lunge
• Abdominal Crunch

Mini Cycle #2:

• Row
• Squat
• Pushup

Rotate through these mini cycles as many times as you see fit.

Modalities

To employ PHA training (or any training for that matter) with conventional equipment only would be unnecessarily limiting your options. PHA can certainly go beyond the typical dumbbell and barbell, and can be very effective with any safe implement that’s incorporated. Applications for PHA training are endless. Variations with sled dragging, medicine balls, kettlebells, sprinting (running, bike, elliptical), odd implements, and bodyweight applications are a fun mixture. These combinations can enable kids to train their entire body in a single workout while achieving cardiovascular and strength benefits in a short period of time.

Gym Class and Outdoor Applications

Using no equipment at all in a group setting such as gym class or playground, kids can do a series of bodyweight movements in PHA style using a couple mini cycles as exampled below:

Mini Cycle #1:

• Top Pushup Position Plank Hold
• Walking Lunge
• Abdominal Crunch
• Calf Raise

Mini Cycle #2:

• Hang From Bar
• Bicycle Crunch
• Wall Sit
• Pushup/Modified Pushup

Last Set

The workout examples listed in this article are just the tip of the iceberg for Peripheral Heart Action. Because of its simplicity and effectiveness, PHA has no limits in its application, and as long as a program is based on safety and efficiency, putting together some fun and effective programs for kids to get stronger and fit will be just another way to keep our kids healthy.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

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Today’s study from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research looks at one small part of the youth training debate. It asks, “How strong are children that have never participated in strength training? How strong would they be with a small dose of strength training? How strong could they be with a lot of dedicated strength training?” The study examined three groups of youth: elite soccer players who had never touched a barbell, elite soccer players who had performed strength training for two years, and elite junior weightlifters. The children were tested in the front squat and back squat.

As expected, the untrained soccer players were weakest. But soccer players with just two years of strength training were much stronger. The difference was even more pronounced in the younger children. The 11-12 year-olds who had strength trained were over twice as strong as their untrained peers. That means the strength-trained 11-12 year-olds were squatting over 90 pounds while the untrained 11-12 year olds were squatting less than 40 pounds. Imagine the athletic advantages the stronger kids will have in adulthood because they began their development more than twice as strong as their peers. The consequences are mind-blowing.

Oh, and we almost forgot about the elite junior weightlifters. Well, with several years of weight training under their belts, they pretty much made everyone else look silly. In general, they would take their peers’ maximum squat, add some weight, and then squat it 5 times. The strongest 11-12 year-old squatted almost 100 pounds for 5 reps. And the weightlifters squatted the heavier weight much deeper than the other groups that were only required to perform a parallel squat.

All this geeking out has a clear conclusion: Children can benefit greatly from strength training. They can also begin strength training much earlier than conventional wisdom dictates. Participating in a well-organized, supervised strength training program is completely safe. No, really, scientists have studied this, and it’s not even close to dangerous. Supervised strength training results in very few injuries. But do you know what sport is proven to result in far more injuries than strength training? Soccer – the official sport of kids and suburban moms everywhere.

I don’t want to discourage you from allowing your child to participate in soccer. Rather, I want to challenge the way you perceive strength training. To many people barbells seem dangerous because they are unfamiliar. With no experience other than conventional wisdom and hearsay, it’s easy to categorize the unfamiliar as dangerous. But the nice, neat, familiar sport of soccer – we’re completely comfortable with that. We’ve probably watched a soccer game in person before. We know the basic rules. We know lots of children participate in those sports because we see it before our eyes. Therefore, we perceive soccer as relatively safe, when all we really know is that everybody is doing it.

In truth, even though it may not be as familiar or comfortable as soccer, supervised strength training is very safe. And the positive effects of strength training will carry over into every moment of a child’s life – not just the time they’re on the field. If you look at the issue with a level head and accept proven science over conventional wisdom, then strength training is an incredibly safe and healthy tool for children. Your child’s life will be much better because of it.

References:

1. Michael Keiner, et. al. Strength Performance in Youth: Trainability of Adolescents and Children in the Back and Front Squats. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 27(2):357-362, February 2013. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3182576fbf

2. Avery D Faigenbaum, et. al. Youth Resistance Training: Updated Position Statement Paper From the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. 23():S60-S79, August 2009. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31819df407

3. Zaricznyj, B, Shattuck, L, Mast, T, Robertson, R, and D’Elia, G. Sports-related injuries in school-aged children. Am J Sports Med 8: 318-324, 1980.

Photo provided by CrossFit LA.

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