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Will Strength Training Benefit My Child?

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By DAVID P. NEWMAN, PT, DPT, OCS Tribune correspondent

The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 18, 2008

My son wants to play football for the University of South Florida Bulls and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and be a New York Yankees baseball player. While this makes me very proud, he's having difficulty understanding why those goals may be a little lofty. Did I also mention that he's only 3 1/2 years old and less than 3 feet tall?

More kids are competing in sports at earlier ages. While it has been common for children and adolescents to participate in several organized activities each year (football, soccer and baseball, for example), a growing trend for some is to specialize in only one sport and train throughout the year.

This trend is bringing about new and unexpected challenges for the parents, coaches and trainers who primarily monitor these budding athletes' strength and conditioning programs, and for the health professionals who care for sports-related injuries.

Strength, or resistance, training is one critical component of a well-balanced exercise program that can help young athletes succeed with minimal risk of injury. For pre-adolescents (girls younger than age 11 and boys under age 13), strength training is an often-debated and sometimes controversial issue. It usually involves resistance exercises using free weights or weight machines.

As adults, we perform three sets of 10 repetitions in order for our muscles to bulk up. It can take as many as six to eight weeks before we see gains in the mirror. Interestingly enough, it doesn't work quite the same way in kids. Kids do get stronger with training, but these gains are not because the muscle is getting bigger. Instead, more muscle fibers are working at the same time, known as "neuromuscular adaptation."

Historically, kids were not encouraged to weight train because researchers and health care practitioners thought it might be too dangerous, with excessive loads damaging growth plates in the bones, stunting growth or causing injuries. But studies over the past 20 years have shown that proper strength training programs can be safe and beneficial for young athletes. Benefits may include improved performance and overall physical fitness, injury prevention, increased bone density, cardiovascular endurance and even enhanced self image.

Program design and supervision should always be taken into account when a child begins strength training. Position statements from the American Academy of Pediatrics ( www.aap.org), the American College of Sports Medicine ( www.acsm.org), and the National Strength and Conditioning Association ( www.nsca-lift.org) outline specific safety guidelines.

These guidelines include making sure qualified personnel supervise the exercise sessions and use different training modes, such as endurance, cardiovascular and coordination training, and various pieces of equipment, such as dumbbells, elastic bands and even body weight.

High repetitions, low weights, and proper technique to avoid straining and improper leverage are very important. The exercises should be appropriate for the child's age and understanding, but most importantly, the child must be ready and willing to stick with such a program.

If you have questions, physicians, athletic trainers, strength and conditioning specialists and physical therapists are excellent resources. It's critical for parents to understand what type of training will most benefit their children's sports performance and take an active role in that program. I plan to when my son starts playing organized sports.

I think my wife mentioned something about registering my son for soccer this summer. Anyone know whether Tampa has a soccer club looking for a 33-inch-tall midfielder?

Dr. Newman is an assistant clinical professor and coordinator of the Physical Therapy Center at USF Health.

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