Article Written By:
Mike Bewley, MA, CSCS, C-SPN, USAW-I
President & Founder, ONS Performance
Head Strength & Conditioning Coach For Baksetball
Certified Sports Nutritionist for Basketball
University of Dayton

For many years, the use of resistance training to increase muscular strength and endurance in prepubescent and adolescent boys and girls was highly controversial. Boys and girls were discouraged from using free weights for fear that they might injure themselves and prematurely stop the growth process. Furthermore, many scientists speculated that resistance training would have little or no effect on the muscles of the prepubescent boys because their levels of circulating androgens were still low.

Fortunately, several studies have been conducted in which both prepubescent and adolescent children have participated in resistance training. From these studies, Kraemer and Fleck have concluded that the risk of injury is very low (1). In fact, resistance training might offer some protection against injury, for example, by strengthening the muscles that cross a joint (1). Still a conservative approach is recommended in prescribing resistance exercise for children, particularly preadolescents.

For actual training programs, resistance training for children should be prescribed in much the same way as for adults. Specific guidelines (Table 1) were established at a workshop in 1985 by a group representing eight different professional organizations: the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine, The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Athletic Trainers Association, the National Strength and Conditioning Association, the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, the US Olympic Committee and the Society of Pediatric Orthopedics (2).

Also, Kraemer and Fleck have established basic guidelines for the progression of resistance exercise in children, which are presented in Table 2 (1). Further information on resistance training program designs for children is available. They include:

• Fleck, S.J. & Kraemer, W.J. (1987). Designing resistance training programs. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
• Froberg, K., & Lammert, O. (1996) Development of muscle strength during childhood. In O. Bar-Or (Ed.), The child and adolescent athlete (p. 28). London: Backwell Science.
• Kraemer, W.J., & Fleck, S.J. (1993). Strength training for young athletes. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

In closing, it is important to understand that the mechanisms allowing strength changes in children are accomplished largely without or little increases in muscle size. A comprehensive study of the mechanisms responsible for increases in prepubescent boys concluded that the likely determinants of the strength gains achieved are (1):

• Improved motor skill coordination,
• Increased motor unit activation and
• Other neurological adaptations

Furthermore, regular training has no apparent effect on growth in height. It does, however, affect weight and body composition. Generally, regular training results in (2):

• Lower total body fat
• Higher fat-free mass, and
• Higher total body mass
  
  

Table 1. Strength Training Recommendations for Prepubescent Children

Table 2. Basic Guidelines for Resistance Exercise Progression in Children

Note. If child of any age begins a program with no previous experience, start the child at previous levels and move him or her to more advanced levels as exercise toleration, skill, amount of training time, and understanding permit. Reprinted from Kraemer and Fleck (1993).

Adolescent Aerobic and Anaerobic Training
Do prepubescent boys and girls benefit from aerobic training to improve their cardio-respiratory systems? This has also been a highly controversial area because several early studies indicated that training prepubescent children did not change their VO2 max values. Interestingly, even without significant increases in VO2max, the running performance of the children studied improved substantially (2). They could run at a fixed distance faster following a training program. More substantial increases in VO2max appear to occur once children have reached puberty. The reason for these findings are not well defined at this time. Because stroke volume appears to be the major limitation to aerobic performance in this age group, it is quite possible that further increases in aerobic capacity depend on heart growth (2).
Anaerobic training appears to improve children’s anaerobic capacity. Following training, children have (2):

• Increased resting levels of phosphocreatine, ATP, and glycogen;
• Increased phosphofructokinase activity; and
• Increased maximal blood lactate levels.

When designing aerobic and anaerobic training programs for children and adolescents, it appears that standard training principles for adults can be applied. However, it would be prudent to be conservative to reduce the risk of injury, overtraining, and loss of interest in sport (2). This is also an appropriate time in life to focus on learning a variety of motor skills by exploring a number of activities and sports (2). Table 3 provides us with some cautionary measures when training children during aerobic and anaerobic activity.

Table 3. Cautionary Thermal Stress Measures for Anaerobic and Aerobic Training in Children and Adolescents

Further information on agility, aerobic and anaerobic training program designs for children are available. They include:

• Bar-Or, O. (1983). Pediatric sports medicine for the practitioner: From physiological principles to clinical applications. New York: Springer-Verlag.
• Eriksson, B.O. (1972). Physical training, oxygen supply and muscle metabolism in 11-13-year old boys. Acta Physiologica Scandinavica, Suppl. 384.
• Rowland, T.W. (1985) Aerobic response to endurance training in prepubescent children: A critical analysis. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 17, 493-497.
• Rowland, T.W. (1989). Oxygen uptake and endurance fitness in children: a developmental perspective. Pediatric Exercise Science, 3, 95-102.
• Arther, M & Bailey, B. (1998). Complete Conditioning for Football. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
• Costello, F. & Kreis, E.J. (1993). Sports Agility. Nashville, TN: Taylor Sports Publishing, Inc.

Article References

1. Kraemer, W.J., & Fleck, S.J. (1993). Strength training for young athletes. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
2. Wilmore, J.H., Costill, D.L. (1994). Physiology of Sport and Exercise. Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL.

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