Almost 30 million kids–50% of boys and 25% of girls–in the United States take part in organized sports programs. As the number of kids involved in organized sports activities has grown, there’s been a drive to get kids involved in strength training. But are kids safe to train this way, and does the training make a difference?
The conclusions of this article are that strength programs can be an effective and safe way for kids to become stronger. But kids will probably not get honed and bulging muscles like Hulk Hogan or Marion Jones–at least not right away.
Past research clearly shows that carefully designed and supervised programs of strength training, done two to three times a week, can increase muscle strength in children and adolescents. Research also shows that kids don’t usually “bulk up” when they get stronger, because their bodies don’t produce the necessary chemicals until after they reach puberty. Increased coordination, neurological activity, and muscle adaptations seem to account for the increase in strength.
Many doctors and coaches believe that strength training causes injuries to kids. Yet in all the studies, children had very few or no injuries during strength training. Emergency rooms do see about 17,000 adolescents with weightlifting injuries each year. But the authors note that most of these injuries were from power lifting, not from doing the strength training that was done in the studies. Power lifting involves trying to lift the heaviest weight possible. And most of the injuries happened to kids who were unsupervised and weren’t taking part in organized sports.
There are reasons to be cautious, however. Adults should:
- Make sure children get a physical examination before starting a strength training program.
- Always supervise strength training programs.
- Educate kids about the dangers of using steroids.
- Avoid putting too much pressure on child athletes to perform.
And, for budding Mr. and Ms. Universe contestants, adults should make sure kids understand that they can’t develop big muscles at this time of their life, no matter how much weight they lift.