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About the strength training
The strength training is a set of exercises with free weight, training machines or any other equipment that build the muscle mass and increase strength. Thanks to the additional refusal during the exercise, the muscles have additional effort in order to complete the full motion. When the muscles work harder they become stronger and more durable.
The strength training can strengthen ligaments and tendons, that control the muscles. It also can improve the bone density by increasing the amount of calcium and minerals in bones. The benefits of strength exercises go beyond the physical health. A person feels much better while feeling the vital strength of the body.
The aim of the strength exercises is to strengthen the person’s body muscles. The strength training cannot be confused with weightlifting, powerlifting or bodybuilding that are not recommended for children and youth. These disciplines are trained with the use of extremely big weights in order to participate in professional contests of weightlifting.
The myths of strength training for children
Unfortunately, many people think that strength exercises are inadequate and dangerous for children and young persons. Apparently, such thinking is without any sense because if the strength training is safe and effective for older people, then it is even more appropriate for the younger persons who are healthy, full of energy and have the full motion ability.
In reality, there has never been any serious accident or injury caused by properly conducted strength training for children and youth. On the contrary, strength exercises are not only safe for children but also reduce the number of possible injuries that may occur during other sports disciplines and physical activities.
According to American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), 50 percent of sport injury cases could have been avoided if the children have regularly performed strength exercises. Common thesis that can be met is the negative impact of strength exercises on your person’s bone development, however, it has never been proven so. A research conducted in the USA refutes this particular thesis, proving that strength training improves bone development of children and youngsters.
During the 10 month research on 9- and 10-year old girls, the mineral bone density of girls who performed strength training and aerobics increased by 6,2 percent. In comparison, those girls who trained only aerobics had their bone density increased by only 1,4 percent.
Also, there is a statement that gymnastic exercises are safer for children than weight exercises. It is also false, especially for the children who have problems with obesity and mobility. During the strength training, a person can regulate the weight being pulled or pushed, what cannot be done during gymnastic exercises, football or basketball classes.
Another myth concerning the strength training exercises is that the children cannot obtain any increase in strength and muscle development because their testosterone level is very low. If this were true, then women and elderly people would not have got any benefits as well. In reality, the studies in the USA have proven that boys and girls who have trained had a significant improvement in muscle mass development and improvement in muscle strength. Furthermore, the research shown the effects of strength training to be relatively long lasting.
Strength training for children
According to many studies carried in the USA, a strength training can be a very interesting idea for children to build healthy muscles, joints and bones. Thanks to properly designed and supervised training program, children and youth can inprove their endurance and strength along with overall physical fitness, which results in better results in other sport disciplines. Strength exercises can help to prevent injuries that may be acquired in other sports or in unfortunate events at home and it can hasten their recuperation.
Children and youngsters, who regularly perform strength exercises can improve their strength by even 75 percent!
So, is it worth to pay attention to the need of children and youth for doing strength training exercises? Of course it is worth, especially because those anecdotal and misleading myths have been proven to be wrong by many studies that actually confirm the positive influences of strength exercises on the young person’s organism.
The researches also prove that the positive aspect of strength exercises is especially beneficial, in contrast with other forms of physical activity, for the obese children. It is due to the fact that during strength training a person with obesity is not loaded with the weight of his own body as it is in case of running, jumping, playing football or basketball.
It is also important that at SCHOOL FITNESS STUDIO, obese children can show their strength and impress other classmates as they could not do it in any other physical activities before.
Motivation towards exercises
If we want to propose strength exercises to the children and youth, the most important thing is to motivate them to take an increased physical effort for 30 up to 40 minutes. The more interesting idea for classes, the better motivation we will achieve. It is especially important when working with younger children to lead the lesson in a form of a game or play. Children and youth like to take physical effort of short duration and then take a break and rest. Such a cycle is the idea of strength training and this is why the children are satisfied. One of the most important case concerning motivation is the visible progress – children who train regularly at SCHOOL FITNESS STUDIO can easily estimate their strength improvement by watching the weights they lift.
At what age a child can start the strength training
1. Generally, if a child is ready to take part in an organized physical activities like basketball, volleyball, football or gymnastics, then it is also ready to take up the strength training. By this fact it is possible to assume that it is the age of 7-8. Of course, a training program for children and youth cannot be just a smaller version of training schemes for adults.
2. A teacher of physical education classes, an instructor or a parent supervising the children should draw a program of exercises and should present the proper motion technique, how to perform the exercise safely and how to use the training equipment properly.
3. It is recommended to start the training with a warm up session followed by pushups and sit-ups. These exercises will help the children to build a base for their strength, train their sense of balance and help them feel and control their body.
4. When the children learn the proper motion technique of an exercise without additional weights, then they may start performing the exercises with small amounts of additional load and resistance on machines and training equipment. The role of the supervising person is to properly select the additional weight.
Safety during strength training
1. As with any other sports disciplines, a child has to be examined by a doctor before setting out a strength training.
2. If a child feels pain or dizziness caused by the physical exercises, the training has to be stopped immediately and the consultation with a doctor must occur. .
3. It is important to be sure that children will be supervised by a teacher, instructor or parent.
Generally, there should not be more than 15 currently training children supervised by 1 person. If in the studio are any children who currently do not exercise, then they have to stay in a place with no access to training equipment.
4. . It is very important that the equipment used by the children is safe and allows for proper performance of the exercises.
5. A special attention should be paid to forbid a child to lift bigger weights than it was established for this particular exercise.
6. The exercise should be performed according to the instructions given by a P-E teacher, an instructor or a parent.
7. Children should not wear loose or too big clothing and jewelry during exercises.
8. It is vital to teach the children about harmful effects of anabolic steroids, which are used by some young people to increase their strength and muscle gains.
Strength training guidelines for children and young people
Generally, it is possible to assume that children should train for about 20 to 30 minutes, performing properly supervised exercises (it would be best to precede the training with 10-minute warm up and end up with slow cooling of the organism) 2 to 3 times per week.
Although the optimal training guidelines for children and adults are similar in some aspects, however, there still are some crucial differences, especially when it comes to the sets of exercises and amount of reps.
Here is the list of training guidelines for children and youth:
1. For the optimal results, children and youth should perform 3 series with 13 to 15 repetitions and have a 2-minute break between the exercises
2. The size of the used weights should be about 60% of the maximum load at a single repetition.
3. The optimal frequency of strength trainings is 2 to 3 times weekly with at least 1 day break between the training days.
4. The quick progression in increasing the additional load should be avoided. If a child is able to properly perform 3 sets of 15 repetitions, then during the next training day the load should be increased by 5%. And again, the additional load can be increased by another 5% once the child will be able to perform 3 sets of 15 reps, each motion properly performed.
5. The exercise technique consists of the motion speed, movement array, proper breath timing and proper body position during the exercise. The speed of a single motion should adjusted so the person will be rising the load for 2 seconds and lowering it for another 2 seconds. With this pattern, children can perform a set of 15 repetitions in approximately 60 seconds.
6. While doing simple exercises (eg. for bicep and tricep) it is recommended to perform the full motion. However, in order to limit the potential risk of injury to a minimum, some exercises should be performed with reasonable motion array. Especially, it concerns exercises on leg muscles – hamstrings and quads (leg press, lying leg curls, leg extensions). Generally the suggested motion array in exercises performed by the children shouldn’t exceed 90 degrees.
7. During exercises, breathing plays a vital role. Proper breathing technique requires exhale while lifting motion (concentric muscle work) and inhale while lowering motion (eccentric action of the muscle).
8. It is required to properly position the body. Correct posture provides easier breathing and effective performance of an exercise. During an exercise, standing or sitting, the head should be lifted, the arms should be angled to the back, the torso should be straight and the hips should be leveled.
Recommended strength exercises for children
According to the researches carried in the USA, children and youth should perform between 6 and 12 different strength exercises in each training session. Their training program should cover every main muscle groups, including quads, hamstrings, glutes, lats, abdominals, chest, lower back, deltoids, traps, biceps and triceps. Of course, other muscle groups should not be omitted, because the more muscles are trained, the more valuable the training will be. Some children can train at SCHOOL’s FITNESS STUDIO to prepare themselves for other sports disciplines like, for instance, Tennis. In such case, the exercises can be tailored to the child’s discipline to focus more on shoulders and forearm muscles and wrists.
As far as the equipment and exercises are concerned, children can do:
- exercises with free weights, eg. dumbbells
- exercises that use their own body weight, eg. pull-ups, abdominal crunches on decline bench, handrails
- exercises on machines for weight pushing or pulling.
The machines have to be adjustable depending on the height of a child or youngster. One of the main advantages of the specialized machines is the possibility to adjust the additional load and the fact that they force the correct movement technique on the user.
Safety and supervision
There is no doubt that the most important aspect of safe and successful strength training of children and youth is a qualified supervision of adult person during each workout. If this condition is met, then strength training is one of the safest and physiologically most beneficial form of physical activity for children and adolescents. Through wisely carried trainings in a FITNESS STUDIO at SCHOOL or in a home gym, children will develop very strong muscular and skeletal systems.
Recent researches confirm that a reasonable strength training will help the children to look better, to feel better and to function better. Also, they will help to develop such patterns of action that should serve the children for the rest of their life. Children and adolescents who start their strength training early, have great chances to carry this way of life into their adulthood.
And the need for physical exercises, especially the most effective ones, never ends in man’s life. It can be said that this need even increases at it is written on the page: http://www.g1-fitness.com/info/Element/aging-of-the-body.html
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