Kids and Conditioning, Keep It Fun!

By Bruce Cohn
Boston Globel, October 16, 2003
 
It’s one of those parental moments you’re not quite prepared for: your child wants to start working out and lifting weights. You know training is important for adults; you’re just not sure it makes sense for kids. Visions of muscle-bound children with stunted growth dance through your head.

While most experts agree that it is safe for kids (other than those who are extremely overweight) to begin strength training with body weight calisthenics as early as age eight, there are a number of questions worth considering. At what age is it safe for a youngster to train? What type of program is appropriate? What differences between boys and girls need to be taken into account? And is it even necessary for youngsters to train?

Perhaps the biggest question is, “How do I keep my child motivated?” The answer is surprisingly simple. Kids’ workouts must have an element of play which engages them while challenging them to discover what their bodies can do.

Exercises such as pushups, pull-ups, squats and sit-ups should be combined with running games and drills that improve speed and agility. I use ladder drills with all of my athletes-- regardless of their age-- because they are fun and improve speed, agility, balance and coordination. They are also a great way to warm up the body and can be done in increasingly demanding progressions.

You can buy these ladders from a distributor (I use M-F Athletic at www.performbetter.com) or make them yourself. Ladders can be painted, taped or drawn in chalk on a floor --the surface should have some give-- in sixteen by sixteen inch squares which extend for five to ten feet.

Begin by marching through the ladder with one foot landing in each rung making sure the knee and toes of the raised leg point up. The arm on the opposite side of the raised leg is brought forward with the elbow bent at a ninety degree angle. The raised leg is brought down into the next rung and the pattern of opposing leg raise and arm swing is continued. Start with slow marching and progress to skipping and then running.

The next challenge is to go through the ladder with two feet touching inside each rung while maintaining the same lead foot. These drills can be done both running and skipping, forward as well as laterally, through the ladder. From here there are dozens of foot patterns moving inside and outside of the ladder which can be attempted. Kids’ favorites include the Icky Shuffle, Chubby Checker Twists and Hopscotch.

Ladders can also be used to improve upper body and torso conditioning. From a pushup position place both hands in the first rung of the ladder and spread your legs wide enough apart so that your feet are outside of the ladder. Draw your stomach muscles in and keep your hips level (no butts in the air). Now walk as quickly as you can through the ladder placing both hands in each successive rung until you get to the end of the ladder. This pattern can be repeated moving backwards and sideways down the ladder. Combining these Spiderman walks with a short sprint from the end of the ladder is both demanding and fun.

Your child should now be ready for some body weight strength training exercises. Each of these exercises requires stabilizing the torso--thereby working the muscles of the core--while raising and lowering body weight. Add in a pull-up bar and your child’s strength training program will be complete. Make sure that the height of the bar can be adjusted in the doorway so that the pull-ups can be made easier by allowing your child’s feet to touch the ground if necessary.

These exercises can be made fun by challenging a child to complete the entire circuit in a set time or completing a set number of repetitions. In this way kids learn to compete with themselves in trying to achieve new “personal bests”. I also like to combine running and dodging skills with muscle conditioning by playing tag games where kids who are caught can get back in the game by completing a set number of pushups or other body weight exercises.

An organized program run by a certified professional may be appropriate for your child by the time he or she turns twelve. Such a program should begin with building core muscle strength through torso training and body weight exercises before introducing weight lifting. A child’s ability to perform body weight exercises properly is a better indicator of readiness for weight training than mere chronological age.

In terms of training boys and girls, there is a large body of evidence suggesting that sports conditioning may be even more critical for females. We know that, in general, girls go through growth spurts earlier than boys do; are more prone to ACL tears (a type of knee injury) and have more fat and less muscle mass than boys. A well-designed program can address all of these issues.

And don’t worry about your daughter becoming bulky or masculine. Females have less of the muscle-building hormone testosterone than males. Training for girls increases strength and calorie burning without adding large amounts of muscle mass.

But you are still wondering if it is necessary for your child to do all of this. After all, aren’t they getting in shape by playing on a youth sports team? More often than not, the answer is no.

What most people don’t take into account when they think about youngsters playing sports is the tremendous force that many activities place on young joints, bones and muscles. For example, every time we jump we land with approximately three to eight times our body weight. Repeating this simple movement throughout the course of a game places great stress on the lower body. Add in the demands of sharp cuts and quick changes of direction and it is no wonder that orthopedists report dramatic increases in the incidence of knee and other lower extremity injuries among youngsters involved in youth sports.

Avery Faigenbaum, Associate Professor of Exercise Science and Physical Education at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, believes that “a child’s physical activity should not begin with sports.” He is an expert on youth conditioning and argues that children need six weeks of an exercise program to prepare their muscles and bones for the rigors of sports.

Today’s young athletes start practicing and playing at a much younger age. In 2001 the National Council of Youth Sports reported over 52 million youngsters between the ages of six and eighteen were playing organized sports. “When sports are over-organized it takes away from the play aspect for kids” suggests Joe Mallen who coached Division 1 college hockey coach for over 24 years and is in charge of all coaching education for USA Hockey in Massachusetts. For it is the aspect of play that engages children and keeps them coming back for more.

Mallen recently returned from coaching a Massachusetts youth hockey team at the Friendship Series in Stockholm. In discussions with European coaches who have produced some of the top hockey players in the world, Mallen was impressed by their insistence on keeping training fun for kids. We would do well to remember that when thinking about how to help our kids get in better shape.

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.