Benefits of strength training for youth

This huge frenzy on the risks of youths doing strength training causes parents to stay close-minded about getting their kids stronger and healthy. The misinformation about strength training causing harm to youths that is circulating between non-professional is causing more harm to the youth population than expected. Introducing your kids to strength training is one of the best things you can do for them. ​

Strength training in youth will help maintain a healthy body composition early on. Today one in three youths is overweight or obese and that rate has been slowly increasing as more kids are becoming sedentary due to their environment. The number of kids that aren’t doing strength training regularly has increased by 2% over the past 5 years and according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, obesity increases the risk of other serious physical and mental health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, anxiety, and depression. Kids can use strength training as a form of stress release, a form of good distraction to attain a better body composition or as an introduction to higher responsibilities and forming good habits. In all, having your kids exercise will help improve their overall health, self-esteem, and confidence.

    When involved in a consistent strength training regimen, youths will have an increase in bone density, protecting the body from basic injuries when falling. Proper implementation of strength training in youths helps promote growth hormone release from the on-going stress of the exercises. If they participate in recreational sports, strength training provides an extra layer of protection with the built up strength from the growing muscles. It also increases their performance in their sport and body coordination by increasing neural muscular connectivity.
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    Although we’re promoting strength training, we are not disregarding the risk factors such as volume, load, intensity, and most importantly form. When introducing youths to strength training, professionals and parents must always keep in mind that the kid won’t get hurt unless they are doing something their body is not capable of executing with proper form. The intensity of the exercise must match the maturity of the kid while understanding the biomechanical requirements. The volume should focus on non weight bearing exercises first to learn the biomechanics of the movement before either increasing the load or progressing to a more complex movement.
Ultimately, strength training in youths has more benefits than risks and parents should be more inclined to have their kids participate in a professionally supervised and coached strength training program than focusing only on the rumors that tend to go around about strength training. Injuries can happen to anyone, professional or novice when the exercise is done incorrectly.

-Coach Andy Louis