Strength Training for the Young Athlete

By Bruce Cohn
Concord Journal, September 2001
 
As we discussed in an earlier article, there are numerous benefits that a student-athlete can achieve through weight training. These include, but are not limited to, improved torso strength and postural integrity, increased muscular strength and endurance leading to enhanced performance, more efficient calorie burning and a greater range of motion at the body’s joints. Most experts are in agreement that it is safe for youngsters to begin a supervised strength training program around the age of 11-12. The critical question is where to begin.

We always begin with training a young athlete to stabilize his or her torso as a prerequisite for any strength training. Youngsters need to be taught strengthening exercises for the core muscles of the abdomen, low back and hips. All of this can be done effectively with the use of body weight as resistance. We then move on to the musculature of the lower body. Our focus is on the athlete's ability to maintain a stable core while lowering and raising body weight using proper form. Exercises such as squats, lunges and dead lifts are first performed using body weight and then external resistance may be introduced. The same progression may be followed to train the muscles of the upper body.

Anyone beginning a resistance-training program should start by using a muscular endurance approach. This means higher repetitions with less than maximum weight. When the ability to complete 12-15 repetitions with a given load becomes easier, you are ready to increase the weight. After 3 to 6 weeks of a muscular endurance program one would move on to training for strength and power. While we are great believers in using Olympic lifting techniques to improve explosive power, we insist that such exercises be done under trained supervision. In fact, any training with external resistance such as dumbbells or barbells should be done with an adult present. If this is not feasible, then have your child perform body weight exercises.

Bruce Cohn is the Strength and Conditioning Coach at the Middlesex School in Concord. He runs FIT-TO-GO Total Sports Conditioning and is a nationally certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Bruce can be reached at 781-316-0061 or brucegym@rcn.com.