Obesity is an epidemic that extends from adults all the way down to our youth. As adults, it's already a task getting into shape and adjusting to live a healthier lifestyle, but developing unhealthy habits as children and then trying to break these habits can be death defying. The key is knowledge and prevention, but this is easier said than done. One of the major contributors to child obesity is the lack of physical education programs in our school systems. These programs are under-funded and under-appreciated. In addition, they are often administered by teachers with little to no training or practical experience in sports, training and exercise physiology. Another contributor is the bountiful amounts of processed foods being served in fast food restaurants and our children's school cafeterias. It is an unfortunate truth in our society, but by empowering ourselves with knowledge, we can improve the health and well-being of our youth.
YOUTH TRAINING PRECAUTIONS
It is vital that children engage in daily exercise activities, but we must first understand that they are not miniature adults. Training methods and motivational techniques will not have the same effect on growing youth as they do adults. They are different from adults anatomically, physically and emotionally. Engaging youth in certain training programs can result in serious injury.
The skeletons of our children do not mature until somewhere between the ages 14 and 22 years, depending on their gender and maturational levels. In girls, exercises during childhood can have a critical effect on bone health that can last a lifetime. Children and adolescents sustain different types of athletic injuries than adults and are particularly vulnerable to growth-related overuse injuries (e.g., Osgood Schlatter's disease).
Children also have immature temperature regulation systems. The large surface area in comparison to theur muslce mass makes them more susceptible to cold injuries. They also do not sweat as much as adults, making them more susceptible to heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Their relatively low muscle mass and immature hormone systems makes it more difficult to develop speed and power. Breathing and heart rate responses during exercise are much different than in adults, which also affects their capacity for exercise.
Growth and development also influences the capacity to learn motor skills. For example, rapid growth during puberty makes it difficult to achieve stability in basic sports skills. Those who mature at an earlier age will out perform late-bloomers — initially. The late-maturing athlete will often out perform the early maturing athlete in high school, college or beyond.
Sports skill development in children depends on maturation of the brain and nervous system, muscles, temperature regulation and endocrine systems. The personal trainer should know developmentally appropriate training techniques that increase fitness for sports without causing injury.
Since 1963, there has been a relationship between lack of activity and increases in body fat levels for children in the USA, as reported in the Physician and Sports Medicine in 1999. However, in the recent past, several leading sports and fitness organizations have set guidelines for strength training for children. Along with recommendations from the ACSM (2002), there is now a wide body of evidence concerning the current state of fitness and optimum routines for children that enhance fitness and wellness. The task at hand is to promote fitness, make it appealing to kids at different age levels, and help children maintain active lifestyles beyond their youth.
Training Considerations
Category 1
Younger (5 to 12): Children have a lower tolerance to the demands of exercise. Strength training routines should focus on learning basic lifting techniques, and not on lifting heavy weights. Beginners should become familiar with the basics of exercise, such as heart rate monitoring, proper body alignment, benefits of warm-up, etc. This age group should not perform high-resistance exercises. Repetitions of 10 to 15 should be used at all times.
Category 2
Older (12 to 17): Lifetime sports and activities should be emphasized with this group of adolescents and young adults. Isolating activities that they enjoy (and are willing to participate in on a regular basis) is an important key to developing a regular curriculum. Body image, peer acceptance, self-esteem, goal-setting and personal achievements are part of this group’s concerns. Strength training may be a prime motivator for adolescents who may have a distorted body image. Toning and sculpting muscles, improving posture and mastering difficult weight training techniques is important for self-esteem. Parents and faculty members should therefore be encouraged to keep kids engaged in resistance training as part of overall fitness. Heavy weight and maximum lifts may still be contraindicated in the younger end of this age group. Always recommend a physical exam by a trained healthcare provider prior to beginning a training program for all youths.
Category 1
Younger (5 to 12): Training at too high of an intensity and duration. Training in hotter and more humid environments, as thermoregulatory mechanisms are not fully developed. Sports injuries to the long bones (epiphyseal plates), low back (L-4, L-5), and muscle injuries are problematic in this group.
Category 2
Older (12 to 17): Tendinous injuries (Osgood Schlatter’s), low initial fitness levels, excess bodyweight and musculoskeletal disorders may all prohibit children from participating without permission from a physician.
Category 1
Younger (5 to12): Learn skills and coordination first. Examples include proper range of motion in lifting, bilateral symmetry, handling free weights and power drills versus strength drills.
Category 2
Older (12 to 17): Increase in training intensity, preparation for sports competition, body toning and general conditioning, increase of range of motion, enhancement of posture. Make it fun. Get feedback from all students.
Boys and girls can indeed significantly improve their strength with resistance training. However, unlike adults, neurological factors, as opposed to hypertrophic factors, are primarily responsible for these gains. Once adolescents occur, testosterone levels in boy's increases from 20-60-ng/100 ml to 300- 600 ng/100ml. Girls' testosterone levels stay at 20-60 ng/100ml.
- Warm-up and stretching should be performed before resistance training.
- Begin with light loads to allow for appropriate adjustments to be made. Increase loads gradually (5 to 10%) as strength improves.
- Workouts should not occur in succession but allow 1 to 2 full days between workouts.
- Two to three non-consecutive workouts are recommended.
- Multiple joint exercises can be used but the focus should be on form and technique rather than weight lifted.
- Finally, encourage the kids to drink plenty of water before, during and after exercise.
Children and adolescents are natural markets for personal trainers. Many young people participate in competitive athletics. They and their parents want health, fitness and athletic success. Children can benefit from the services of a personal trainer, who has specific knowledge of youth fitness and performance as well as more general knowledge of anatomy, physiology, exercise physiology, performance measurement, training, sports psychology and sports nutrition. Personal trainers have an impressive array of training, nutritional and psychological tools to help young athletes excel. At the same time, coaches in high school and sports clubs are often poorly trained because of the sorry state of coaching education in American colleges and universities. This presents opportunities for personal trainers to fill the gap and help motivated young athletes to “be the best that they can be” on the playing field. Understanding these opportunities, the ISSA has developed a specialization course, which focuses on Youth Fitness Training, written by world-renowned exercise physiologist, Dr. Thomas Fahey.
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