We are back with Part II of this 3-part blog series on weightlifting for youth. These three articles aim to dismantle the stigma attached to youth lifting and give parents some legitimate insight some of the common misconceptions about kids’ resistance training and overall athletic development. If you haven’t read Lifting for Kids: Dispelling Youth Training Myths Part I, please click HERE to be directed to the article as it lays the foundation for why I am writing the series, as well as addresses why lifting weights is safe for kids. I think it’s also TREMENDOUSLY BENEFICIAL for youth and youth ATHLETES to resistance train consistently starting before the onset of puberty. Read on.
WHY SHOULD MY CHILD LIFT WEIGHTS/TRAIN?
The data is clear and we as parents can now accept that weight training is generally safe for youth to perform when adequately programmed and supervised, but WHY? I’ll discuss this entire section as it pertains to youth athletes (those who play one or more organized sport) but it can really be extrapolated to all youth, and even adults too for the most part. Let’s start with the baseline, general benefits that come with well-designed strength training programs for youth:
- Increased bone density, bone strength, decreased risk of fractures
- Improved cardiovascular health
- Increased muscular strength, power, and endurance
- Enhanced muscle growth (after the onset of puberty when hormonal environment permits)
- Heightened self-confidence, physical awareness, proprioception, and motor control
- Growing interest in life-long pursuit of fitness and exercise
These benefits alone seem like a no-brainer when it comes to overall physical development of youth, but I’ll add that for YOUTH ATHLETES, strength training holds near essential status as the culture of youth sports continues to push early sport-specialization, no off-season, and childhood recruiting.
Youth sports continue to be big business in North America, and it’s doing a number on our kids and our wallets. The biggest bone to pick that I have with youth sport culture today is twofold:
- There is no longer an off-season for any given sport, and kids are being led to specialize in only one earlier and earlier leading to burn out, overuse injuries, and underdeveloped athletes
- Most “Coaches” and “Trainers” do not have ANY IDEA of the actual physical demands of the sport or how to train for it, and simply make kids “do what I did because that’s the way it’s always been done.”
So, how does strength training or weightlifting come into play here. For youth athletes, a little bit goes a long way – strength was increased 30-50% in as little as 8-12 weeks of supervised and coached lifting. (Dahab and McCambridge, 2009) Besides the above listed benefits of lifting weights and, most likely, improved sports performance, the biggest outcome independent of anything else is THE REDUCTION OF INJURY RISK WHILE COMPETING IN SPORT – both chronic and acute. I’ve assessed plenty of young athletes (mostly hockey goalies) who report chronic hip and groin pain at 12 years old – that’s an overuse injury. Overuse injuries shouldn’t happen in kids. It makes me sad. Overuse injuries occur when load, volume, or intensity of an activity is chronically too high on given tissues. Adults who sit on computers 10 hours a day get overuse injuries of the hand and wrist such as carpal tunnel. Adults who take on a running program without proper preparation or progression get overuse injures like shin splints, plantar fasciitis, or chronic knee pain. I’ll say this again, loud and clear: KID’S SHOULDN’T GET OVERUSE INJURIES. If they are, it’s because their bodies are not physically prepared for the stressor – with the stressor being excessive sport. THIS IS A PARENTING PROBLEM and we must take responsibility for the safety of our kids.
Strength training can help prepare the youth athlete’s body to better handle the demands of the sport and also make them a more well-rounded athlete with a broader movement base. Furthermore, because of the structured and controlled nature of weight training programs, we can actually expose kids to other movement patterns THAT DO NOT MIMIC THEIR SPORT to build some muscular and structural balance. For example, if I start training a 14-year-old hockey goalie who has only ever played hockey, doesn’t take an off-season, and has never done any structured training, their hips have probably adapted to going down into a butterfly over and over and over again (internal rotation), but the musculature on the other side of the joint (that moves the hip into external rotation) is probably underdeveloped (Yes, this is a generalization and yes, I understand that treatment and care here should be individualized). Imbalances like this are a ticking time bomb for acute injury or nagging, chronic pain. You can address issues like these in the controlled environment of a weightroom, NOT ON THE ICE.
Here is my short list of things we can do as parents and coaches to help lower the risk of overuse injuries, fight mental burnout, and improve the Long-Term Athletic Development (LTAD) of our youth athletes:
- Have kids play multiple sports over different seasons
- Force kids, whether they want to or not, to take time off from sports annually
- Let them specialize (choose one sport) only when they cannot play multiple anymore
- Consistent, structured resistance training 1-2x per week from age 12 on
What is LTAD? Here is slide from a Zoom presentation I gave to youth goalies and their parents in the summer of 2020:
Really, when it comes down to it, youth weightlifting and resistance training happens in the safest and most controlled environment compared to physical play and sports. Part III of this series will outline HOW YOUTH CAN TRAIN SAFELY AND EFFECTIVELY to give kids a huge advantage when it comes to playing and enjoying sports FOR LIFE. It will also provide more information on LTAD and why it is essential for our kids. In the meantime, critically think of the sporting decisions you have/will make for your youth athlete child(ren). Are you hindering their development by limiting their sport or training exposure? Are you taking a more well-rounded approach? Arm yourself with the knowledge so we can really do what’s best for the child – that is always what matters the most.
Get strong, stay strong.
Coach Dex
