Strength Training

It is often heard that strength training is dangerous for young children. One can even hear that anyone under the age of 18 should not be anywhere near dumbbells or a squat rack. Strength training is simply not for growing children; they can get seriously injured and it will hinder their growth!
These arguments are simply inconsistent with scientific research. Numerous studies have found strength training to be beneficial for children and absolutely no adverse effects of properly executed strength training on healthy children.

While risk of injury always exists, it should be noted that researchers found that vast majority of strength training related injuries are product of improperly executed movements (poor form). Strict supervision can

Bone growth and shape is determined by the Growth or epiphyseal plate. It is the soft tissue at the end of a bone in a pre-adult that determines the length and shape of the bone. At some point in adolescence, this tissue will solidify and turn into a bone matter, ultimately determining the extent of body growth. While it is feared that strength training will cause damage or hardening of the growth plate, according to an article by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the cause of most growth plate injuries is acute trauma such as a bad fall (gymnastics), a strong blow to a limb (football), or overuse (long-distance runners). Therefore, youth strength training conducted safely and methodically cannot negatively affect a healthy child’s body in any way. And 15 to 20 minute workout twice a week is far from overuse danger that would, for example, appear in young gymnast’s training lasting several hours a day.

STRENGTH TRAINING DOES NOT EQUAL BODYBUILDING! According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, strength training with progressive weights for pre-adolescent children causes increase in strength but without the associated muscular hypertrophy (big muscles). Sure, your 16 year old kid might surprise you with their well-defined abs, biceps or gluts, but fears of unnatural look due to strength training are unfounded for your 9 year old. You should also keep in mind that strength training for children, conducted in a safe manner and

Easily. Either locate a youth trainer in your area, or even better, take your kids to the gym. With the assistance of the trainer, you can teach them and yourself the proper form to execute the motion and gain a workout partner. How about that! Family fitness team! And the best thing is IT ONLY TAKES 15-20 MINUTES TWICE A WEEK!!!
The key is in slow movement exercise. Have your kid take at least 10 seconds to perform one repetition (ideally 1 inch per second with three seconds for the first inch of the movement), for a total of 60 to 90 seconds of muscle work per exercise. This might seem very slow for you, but according to Wayne L. Westcott, Ph.D., youth fitness researcher, explosive repetitions are not only counterproductive in strength training as they reduce the time that the muscles are under stress, but are also the leading cause of exercise related injuries worldwide.

Even if you are not particularly fond of exercise, 40 minutes per week is doable and the benefits for your health and appearance will actually be visible because, due to the slow execution, you get the same exercise as you would get in an hour of workout doing explosive reps. Just think about it. How much actual muscle work does it take you to perform a rep on the bench press (excluding locked joint pause at the apex, if you do it that way). You would probably find that it would take considerably more reps to reach 60 seconds of actual high-level muscle