| |
Osteoporosis - The earlier the prevention, the better the outcome
Help your children achieve peak bone density now, so they don’t have to deal with osteoporosis later. Exercise and nutrition are two vital steps for your children to take.If you think that osteoporosis is a disease that mostly affects older people…you’re right
Read More -->
Children & Exercise
Contrary to popular belief, exercise (including weight training) is beneficial for children. The old school of thought is that exercise adversely affects a child’s development by damaging the growing area of bone, the growth plate.
Read More -->
Is it safe for my child to start lifting weights?
Is it safe for my child to start lifting weights? Your child plays soccer and wants to know how she can get stronger. She has heard that some players lift weights to increase their strength, can she? Is she old enough? Will lifting weights damage her growing bones and muscles?
Read More -->
Running into Spring
As the winter season fades behind us and warmer weather settles in, many are gearing up to get into “summer shape.” For some, it is merely a time to step up the regular exercise routine, for others, this may be the first attempt to shed pounds and tone muscles. One of the most popular ways to accomplish this is running.
Read More -->
Will participating in sports make it harder for my child to do well in school?
A common concern raised by involved parents is: If my child plays a sport, will he or she have a harder time in school? It is true that participating in sports often requires a significant time commitment?
Read More -->
|
|
Children and Exercise |
Contrary to popular belief, exercise (including weight training) is beneficial for children. The old school of thought is that exercise adversely affects a child’s development by damaging the growing area of bone, the growth plate. Yes, while it is true that the growth plates are sensitive to trauma, it is not true that exercise will elicit the necessary trauma damage these areas. In actuality, children often engage in activities more physically demanding during recreational play, than they would during an exercise workout.
When developing an exercise program for children, there are several key points to consider. Most important, exercise should be safe and fun. Although children are fairly pliable, they are still susceptible to injury. In order to ensure that the exercises are safe, one should consult with medical professionals who are well versed in the area of Exercise Science.
 Volume and intensity are the two factors that must be taken into account to ensure that the exercise activities are not too stressful. Volume refers to the amount of exercises and number of sets that will be performed during the training session. Intensity refers to the level of difficulty for each exercise. This is determined by the amount of resistance chosen for each set of exercise. The most common ratio of sets and repetitions is “3 sets of 10 repetitions.” While most people adhere to this as if it were gospel, I would say that it is safe to throw this sentence out. The reason for this is: people likely will choose a weight that is either too heavy or too light for successful completion of these repetitions. And to ensure safety, sets with more repetitions are recommended for kids. A goal is for sets to contain 15-20 repetitions each. Initially, performing two sets for each muscle group exercised will suffice. Once accomplished successfully, and with good form, this may be progressed to three sets for each muscle group. The reason for this is that sets of 15-20 reps do not allow for anyone to lift a weight that is too heavy. It is also a range that is not known to elicit a great amount of muscle growth. This range will help to develop more muscular strength and endurance.
The second part of volume is the number of exercises that must be chosen. Since children are not known to have a lengthy attention span, I limit the number of exercises (muscle groups) to five or six per session. Fewer than this would probably not provide enough stimuli for any changes to occur. The exercises that are chosen should vary in order to target the major muscle groups of the body. One method of doing this is to choose two exercises for the lower body, two for the core, and two for the upper body. It is also possible to choose three for the lower body and three for the upper body. There are many ways in which this can be combined. The main point is that the muscle groups chosen to exercise should target the entire body during the training session.
In choosing the appropriate exercises, I recommend the following:
1. Children should not use exercise machines that are designed for adults. Most of these pieces of equipment are designed for people within a certain height and body size. Children are often smaller than the minimal height range designed for adults. The only machines that are not limited to this are cable columns, since they allow for greater range of motion than other fixed machines.
2. Use Free weights. These allow for greater variation and imagination. Free weights do not restrict the range of motion of joints, as do other machines. As a result, these weights will allow for a wide variety of exercises to be chosen; depending on the goal.
3. As long as the rules of body mechanics are not being violated, the only limitation will be imagination. One advantage that free weights have over machines is that they are not restrictive. Exercises that are more functional and simulate real human movements can be created and performed with the greatest of ease.
While I have tried to briefly cover the concept for exercising children, I hope that you realize that there is more to it than this. The area of Exercise Science is vast and is limitless in what it can offer in the pursuit for enhancing human performance.
And most important…Children must be SUPERVISED, by an adult, at all times when working out.
Michael A. Figueroa, MS, CSCS
Beth Israel Medical Center
New York, NY 10128
|
|
|
