Weight Training and Kids - We Have the 411

• Wednesday, December 1st, 2010
• by amy

Holiday Bodyweight Challenge - Day 17

There's a very popular misconception out there that kids are not supposed to lift weights and perform weight-loaded exercise.  Many parents, coaches, and doctors believe this to be true, citing various examples of growth plate injuries and stunted growth as possible side effects.  Having been involved in both athletic training and strength training with high school athletes for many years, I've heard a lot of this.  Heck, even in yesterday's New River Valley Current, a supposed expert pointed out that younger kids "should not be weight training."

Really?  Today's culture is not as it has been for thousands of years.  We sit on our behinds, while our ancestors actually had to work for food and shelter, and that included children.  We are designed to move, both our bodies against gravity, and external forces against gravity.  Sitting in front of a computer, or at an assembly line is not physically advantageous, nor is it what we were designed to do. 

A study detailed in the New York Times verifies just that.  Children are designed to move weight, and can have noticeable strength gains from moving weight.  Strength training and fitness programs must be different for kids than their adult counterparts, but that doesn't mean that their's must be only bodyweight-bearing.  We have available to you more information if you're interested.  Just ask.

CrossFit Blacksburg has a program for kids that introduces them to strength training in a controlled environment, with all movements supervised and corrected when necessary.  Weights are only introduced when movement patterns are safe and correct.  Bottom line ... weight training for kids, with proper supervision, is not only safe, but very beneficial.

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