Fitness is in the forefront of people’s minds now. Having been in the fitness industry for nearly ten years now, this is something I’m very happy about. As a general population, we are starting to turn the page on the obesity epidemic and become a more fit population. That being said there is a major part of the population that is still being seriously neglected and that area is children. There are a greater number of diseases related to childhood obesity becoming present than ever before. The fitness industry has been putting in more and more research into the development of safe and effective means for children to become more fit and frankly more and more the research is implying that kids need to lift weights. Now I know that parents are concerned that their children, who are under the age of 15, are too young to be lifting weights and that lifting will affect the growth of the child, but from a biological stand point, there is nothing to worry about. This is better!
The body is a very complex organism made up of multiple types of tissues which needs hormones, regulated by the hypothalamus, to grow. One of these types of tissues I am speaking of are our bones. Our bones are made up of dense calcium and collagen material hardened throughout our lives by a process called ossification. Ossification is when the bone is broken down by osteoclasts and built back up to be stronger by osteoblasts. Now notice I said over time. Bones don’t start out as fully hardened because they need to grow. If they were hard from day one everyone would need to be born at their full adult height. But what allows bones to grow?
On the ends of the bones are epiphyseal plates, more commonly known as growth plates. The growth plates are essentially empty space that is filled up throughout our development until we reach our full growing potential. The only way to negatively impact that growth would be to directly fracture or break a bone on the growth plate. Lifting weights, under proper supervision and with good form, is one of the least likely activities a kid can do to fracture or break a bone. Lifting is a great activity for kids to be involved in. It is challenging and exciting and requires focus, all things that parents want for their kids. It develops body awareness in space, strengthens the muscles and improves athletic performance.
So lifting weights is something all kids are physically capable of, however the next question is whether or not they are mentally mature enough to lift weights. Kids can theoretically start “lifting” as young as the age of 3, and then be lifting for the rest of their lives. That being said, I am not going to hand a 3 year old a pair of dumbbells and say “Thrusters, GO!” Lifting weights is a relative term for kids so let me explain. There are 3 types of lifting: (1) un-weighted/unloaded, (2) un-weighted/loaded and (3) weighted/loaded. Un-weighted/unloaded is nothing in hands at all! Body weight motions only. We use this type of training to teach movement through space and body awareness. Un-weighted/loaded is the use of tools like a PVC pipe, dry erase markers or other negligibly weighted objects we can use to add a form of resistance. We use this mostly to get the kids accustom to having something in hand so they can learn good technique prior to holding actual weight. And weighted/loaded is good old fashion weight training. Now depending on a child’s age and on maturity level it might be a while until we can progress them from one to the next but either way they are doing a type of resistance training.
Most parents feel that weight lifting is an unnecessary risk for their child and that sports and extra-curricular are enough exercise to keep their children healthy. However there have been multiple studies done that more children benefit from resistance training than in sports and extra-curricular activities alone. In a study done in 1986 two groups of prepubescent kids were tracked in exercise regimens. According to the study:
“The indications for progressive resistive strength training for prepubescent children in sports training and rehabilitation have been a source of controversy. Eighteen prepubescent children, two at Tanner Stage II and the remainder at Tanner Stage I, were studied. Examination included anthropometric upper and lower extremity strength and flexibility measurements. The study group participated in progressive resistive strength training sessions on machines three times per week. The study group had a mean increase in strength of 42.9%, whereas strength in the control group increased 9.5% (p < 0.05). The study group had a mean increase in flexibility of 4.5% compared with 3.6% in the control group. The study group showed a mean decrease in body weight during the training period of 0.51% and then gained 3.48% over the subsequent 9 weeks. The control group's body weight increased an average of 6.66% during the 18 weeks. There were no injuries during the training period. It is concluded that prepubescent children can make significant gains in muscle strength in response to progressive resistive training.”(Sewall)
Essentially what that means is that the children who participated in weight training were more flexible faster and stronger at the end of the study than the children in the control group who did not participate in weight training.
One of the major forerunners in the children’s fitness movement is CrossFit. With specialty training and ongoing research in that area CrossFit has recently released articles in their journal pertaining to kid’s fitness. In an article posted in their journal author Chris Cooper posted the following statistic and question:
“Seventy percent of kids drop out of their primary sport before they’re 13. Most of those say their sport should be more fun. Decades of research and practice paint a very clear picture: Early specialization in one sport is a bad idea. So why are kids playing hockey in the summer instead of doing pull-ups?”(Cooper)
General fitness is often forgotten about because most parents believe that the only way to be great at a sport is practice the sport over and over again. However, what most parents don’t understand is that basic resistance training will improve athletic performance. CrossFit took the ideas that make up fitness and put them into a hierarchy of importance.
As it can be seen in the diagram, a sports specific training regimen is the least important in the hierarchy. Much like the food pyramid the most important and necessary component is listed at the base of the pyramid and builds upwards of lesser importance as the five tiers of the pyramid ascend.
One argument a parent might have is that a child may not have the attention span to be in an organized weight room setting especially at younger ages, prior to adolescence. To which I would agree, but thanks to extensive research done by the CrossFit organization there has been multiple leaps forward in finding what works to get children to be better athletes.
“The key with kids is not just to find out what is developmentally appropriate and physically best for them but also to provide a template for a lifelong love of fitness. To engage and retain 95 percent of kids, fitness has to appeal to them. For younger kids, this means it simply has to be fun.” (Martin)
As it is simply stated, kids what to have fun. Incorporating the key aspects of fitness into a regimen that allow kids to not only improve in their general fitness as well as an athlete will allow them to develop a healthier happy lifestyle. By adopting games and basic exercises into a program for the children to make healthy adaptations and then incorporating sport specific training, like running plays or doing passing drills will allow them to become at the game and healthier in the process.
The unfortunate truth, that no parent wants to hear, is also that not every kid is going to grow up and make it to be a professional athlete, but they are going to grow up. A sport may not last a lifetime, so instilling the idea that a sport is the only form of fitness may cause the child to grow up with a general distain for exercise, especially if they are not too fond of the sport, whether it be because of a coach or because they don’t feel as if they’re any good at said sport.
“Seventy percent of kids drop out of their primary sport before they’re 13. Most of those say their sport should be more fun. Decades of research and practice paint a very clear picture: Early specialization in one sport is a bad idea.” (Cooper)
It’s time to develop better athletes at younger ages by creating a love for fitness. A sport may only last a few years, but a healthy love of fitness may last a lifetime.
In 2008, the associate clinical professor of psychiatryat Harvard Medical School wrote the book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain basedon the outstanding example of the Naperville SchoolBoard. The book summarized the experience Phil Lawler, a gym teacher who had implemented a before-class fitness program at the Illinois school.
“He threw out the balls nets and sticks, there were no more of the just sports gym classes. Instead the kids were just getting fit. Doing activities like running, jumping and strength training. With nineteen thousand kids in the district, only 3 percent were found to be obese. Two years before I learned about it, they had participated in the International Science and Math Test, which is given to every country in the world every three years. The U.S. is always in the low teens. The school district lobbied to participate as a country and came No. 1 in science and No. 6 in math.”(10)
The study shows a direct correlation with physical fitness and academic performance. Kids who are more physically active do better in school and live healthier lives. By implementing a simple exercise regimen into the daily lives of the students of that district they were able to independently become one of the world’s highest academic achieving “countries.”
It can be concluded that although extracurricular activities like sports are important for a child to do, in order to aid in developing social skills, it should not be the sole source of a child’s fitness regimen. Basic weight training and gymnastic worked combined with metabolic conditioning exercises, like running jumping swimming and playing, as well as a balanced diet will create well rounded fit children who are athletic outside of just a sport. A healthy life style, with less emphasis on a sport and more emphasis on health and fun in fitness will create a love for fitness that lasts a life time.
References
Bass, S. Exercise Before Puberty May Confer Residual Benefits in Bone Density in Adulthood: Studies in Active Prepubertal and Retired Female Gymnasts Journal of Bone and Mineral Research Volume 13, Issue 3, pages 500–507, March 1998
Cooper, Chris Fitness Through Sports? The CrossFit Journal September 20014
Faigenbaum, Avery D. STRENGTH TRAINING FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS Clinics in Sports Medicine Volume 19, Issue 4 25 July 2005
Martin, Mikki Lee Playing With Intervals The CrossFit Journal September 2014
Sewall, Les B.S.; Micheli, Lyle J. M.D. Strength Training for Children. Journal of Pediatric OrthopaedicsMarch/April 1986 - Volume 6 - Issue 2
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