February 10, 2021 • 35 mins
You may have heard the myth that strength training will stunt a child's growth. In this episode, Tom gives some evidence to debunk that misconception. However, there are special considerations to keep in mind while easing children into a strength training routine, and in this episode of Fitness Disrupted, listen as Tom gives you some tips on how to introduce kids to strength training.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Fitness Disrupted, a production of I Heart Radio.
I am Tom Holland and this is Fitness Disrupted. One
of the questions I am asked frequently when it comes
(00:21):
to strength training is when can kids safely start strength training?
So often, you know a parent will ask me, Tom.
You know, I have a boy a daughter, and they
are usually involved in sports and they want to know
when it is safe for them to start strength training.
(00:44):
And this goes to some great myths and that is
a common topic of Fitness Disrupted is dispelling those common myths,
and this is perfect show to do just that. So
what is the myth? Well, generally speaking, the myth involved
with strength training and children is that it will stunt
(01:06):
your growth, that strength training will stunt your growth, that
it will prevent your growth plates from reaching their maximum potential,
essentially your bones from reaching their maximum potential, That it
will cause injury and be a negative disruption on those
(01:27):
growth plates. And what's really interesting is it's the sports
that's generally the problem there, and I will talk about that.
So basically, this show is strength training for children. Can
you do it? Should you do it? And if you should?
And if you can, what should you do. And I've
often talked about how I started strength training about fourteen
(01:47):
years old and single greatest thing obviously, uh that I
did back at that age, and I'm gonna talk about
that too, why we should do it way above and
beyond the sports and performance and things like that. And
that's a really important caveat and aspect of this topic
(02:08):
and this show is the sports specialization is that those
people asking, generally oftentimes have a young boy or girl
that is playing a sport, possibly year round. That's a
huge problem, and it's a problem I have myself as
a dad. I have two boys I've talked about frequently
(02:30):
and we'll use them as examples. And a specific example
this very topic was the first time I ever emailed
a coach. I'm not someone who interacts with a coach
unless I have to, and I'll explain why I did.
And it has to do with strength training and kids.
So there's a lot here, But that myth, that myth
(02:52):
about strength training stunting your growth not true, and it
cut right to the chase. And I'll give you the
science behind it, a couple of studies throwing it out there.
And this, by the way, I'm gonna call it strength
training for children one on one because it's not the
last time we'll talk about it here on the show.
And I did talk about it in one of my
(03:12):
first interviews with the incredible Mike Boyle, one of the
world's best strengthening conditioning coaches. You know, Boston red Sox,
Boston Bruin, so many Olympic athletes, and he's a big
proponent of strength training for children because he reads the science,
he looks at the research. So this myth, where does
(03:34):
this myth come from? Right? My grandparents? So many people
still believe that it's a bad idea. And again the
bad idea is the sports specialization. The sports specialization actually does,
according to the research, have the negative consequences that people
(03:55):
believe strength training at a young age does. How's that
for blow in your mind with the myth and the truth?
Quick break. When we come back, getting right into the
science strength training for children? Should you do it? How
soon should you do it? And if you should and
if you can, what do you do? We'll be right
(04:15):
back talking about strength training for children. And when we
talk about children, I'm gonna use read to you. I'm
gonna read a position statement from the Journal of Strength
(04:41):
and Conditioning Research, Journal of Strength and Conditioning, Body, National
Strength and Conditioning Association, and they define children as boys
and girls who have not yet developed secondary sex characteristics,
and that's approximately up to the age of eleven years
and girls in thirteen years and boys, and this period
(05:01):
of development is referred to as pre adolescence, and adolescence
refers to a period between childhood and adulthood and includes
girls aged twelve eighteen and boys aged fourteen to eighteen. Okay,
So talking about when you should start basically strength training
with your kids if you have them, and talked about
(05:22):
the myth that is the forefront of this discussion. And
let me start by giving that story I alluded to earlier. So,
two boys involved in sports and for one of their sports,
the entire teams we're going to strength train. And they
were young, I believe nine, okay, and that is when
(05:48):
I reached out to the coach and said, my son's
will not be involved in that. And it was hard.
It's because the whole team is doing it. It's a
huge part of the issue. You know, so often in
the topics I talked about here on Fitness Disrupted, they're multilayered.
There's many things going on, and so you've got the
sports specialization. We've got so many kids playing sports and
(06:10):
playing them more than ever before, and you don't want
your kid to get left behind. You're already involved, maybe
in a competitive sport, and then your team goes and
does something like that. So outside of just the regular
practices and games, now they are strength training as a team.
And it was really hard. Hard, not from my professional standpoint,
but I've explained to my son why can't do it?
(06:34):
And I have to say to the coach, you know,
he won't be involved in this team activity. Here's the thing, though,
I didn't believe he couldn't do a and be involved
in a strength training program, just not that one. And
I'll tell you why after so nine ten years old,
can you engage in strength training? Here's the thing, everybody,
let's start from this. Your kids are doing those sports
(06:58):
sort of the words. They are extremely physically active, whether
it's hockey or baseball, or soccer, or swimming or tennis,
you name the sport. What are the challenges on their
muscular skeletal systems, especially when they are playing so many
(07:18):
games and so many practices and the seasons are so long,
and what movements are they doing? Gymnastics? So we have
to start from that physical standpoint that they're already involved
in an insane, oftentimes amount of exercise, that that is
asking a lot of those little bodies. So does it
(07:41):
not maybe make common sense that you could engage in
some sort of strength training. And then the reasons are why.
I'm gonna get to those, But just from that first argument,
it would make sense that it shouldn't be that crazy
a thought to think that they can be involved in
(08:02):
more exercise. It may be different exercise, and maybe exercise
for important reasons. So let's go back real quickly to
the growth plate. Let's just describe what it is. What
are people going to I don't I've heard that myth,
but I have no idea what it is really Simply,
what is a growth plate? Growth Plates are the areas
of new bone growth in children's and teens. It's it's
cartilage essentially. Okay, they usually close when near the end
(08:27):
of puberty. So this is interesting when you start to
do the math on the ages and the sports and
what we're asking of our kids. So for girls generally speaking,
and this has changed over the years thanks to numerous things.
But let's say end of puberty for girls maybe thirteen
to fifteen, and for boys later fifteen to seventeen. And
(08:47):
again there's a wide range. Some kids at seventeen have
been done with sports for three or four five years,
the ones you started at six, same thing with the girls. Okay,
So to think that you're not going to engage in
any kind of strength training ntil seventeen for boys or
to fifteen. So is this growth plate myth doesn't hold water?
(09:13):
And the answers no. The answers no. Out of all
of the topics I've had on this show, you know,
there's usually boast, often two sides to it. That's the challenge, right,
you gotta look at the studies. You gotta look at
who did them. This one pretty straightforward, pretty cut and dried,
pretty black and white. Try to find studies that show definitive,
(09:36):
concrete evidence that strength training and children when done the
way I will describe is problematic stunts your growth negatively
affects the growth plates. This is the toughest topic to
find that counter argument, it's really not there. And usually
myths come from somewhere and then they're blown up and
(09:57):
and distorted, but not really in this case, this is
just a myth and if you really look back that
they talk about injuries from strength training, but it didn't
really have to do with stunting of your growth and
all of the aspects of that myth not there, not there. So, yeah,
(10:20):
why didn't I allow my kids to get involved in
that strength training program with the Team's really simple two reasons.
Quality the instructors to be brutally honest, and then the
fact it was a group dynamic. And once again, these
are two criteria that are not looked at enough, especially
(10:42):
the group dynamic. The other part it's pretty straightforward, although
most people don't know what a qualified instructor is, and
that's a huge problem with fitness. You're listening to the
wrong people with little to know education or experience, and
then to think that they are not only working with
chill drin but groups. What happens in a group setting
(11:05):
A the instructor can't possibly monitor everyone. You've got kids
on a team and you're you're you're working out so
form proper form. Hello, So you've got an instructor issue,
You've got a group dynamic issue, and these are huge
issues and then their kids. So not the way I
(11:27):
personally want my kids to start their strength training programs.
So pretty easy decision for me when it came down
to it. Okay, so let's get into the science, all right,
and I'm gonna start with I'm only gonna give you
a couple really important studies and position papers here that
should clarify it. Again, there's really not a lot of
(11:50):
counter arguments based in science. Youth resistance training updated position
statement paper from the National Strength and Conditioning Associate And
this is the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, August
two thousand nine, a little while back. But this is
is pretty straightforward, and I'm going to read you verbatim
(12:11):
a couple of paragraphs because it will clarify right away. Okay,
So we're talking about growth plates, bone health, you know, cartilage,
and here is their take on it. Okay. Despite traditional
fears that resistance training would be harmful to the immature
skeletal growth of youth, current observations suggests that childhood and
(12:32):
adolescents maybe the opportune time for the bone modeling and
remodeling process to respond to the tensile and compressive forces
associated with weight bearing activities. Remember, movement is really good.
Weight bearing activity is good. Sitting around doing nothing is
not good for our bodies, especially when we are building
(12:53):
strength and bones and things like that. They go on.
If age specific resistance training guidelines are followed, and if
nutritional recommendations, for example, adequate calcium are adhered to, regular
participation in a resistance training program can maximize bone mineral
density during childhood and adolescence. Moreover, there is no detrimental
(13:16):
effect of resistance training on linear growth in children and adolescence.
Right there, there's the paragraph, and back to the way
I started this program. When adults, when you know, parents
reach out to me about their children and strength training,
this is the first thing I send them. This is
(13:37):
the first thing I send them, and then we could
take it from there. This is one of the top
certifying bodies. You know, when you get a certification, I
have this one. I got this one years ago National
Strength and Conditioning Association. You know, if you want a
great certification as a trainer in strength, Olympic lifts, things
(13:57):
like that, you get this one and they have great research.
Let me give you show more two more quick paragraphs
from that position statement. Various combinations of resistance training program
variables have proven to be safe and effective for children,
providing that the program developers used scientific information, established training principles,
(14:20):
and common sense. Right there, How often do I stop
when I'm reading, you know, a study, and you can't
overlook how important those three specific points are. Providing that
program developers use scientific information almost never done, you go, oh,
you're exact, No, I'm not exaggerating. Almost never done, established
(14:41):
training principles these people don't necessarily know. And common sense. Wow,
common sense. I love it's it's so rarely thrown in there.
I talked about it here on the show. I say,
we take the research, the science, and then we take
the anecdotal, and then we take common sense, and you
put all of these together, all these together, especially with kids.
(15:05):
One final paragraph from the position statement paper. Despite outdated
concerns regarding the safety or effectiveness of youth resistance training,
scientific evidence and clinical impressions indicate that youth resistance training
has the potential to offer observable health and fitness value
to children and adolescence. Once again, here we go, provided
(15:27):
that appropriate training guidelines are followed and qualified instruction is available.
In addition to performance related benefits, which, by the way,
is the farthest down the list of reasons to do
it that I will get to the effects of resistance
training on selected health related measures, including bone health, body composition,
(15:48):
and sports injury reduction. That's going to be number one
for me. Should be recognized. These health benefits can be
safely obtained by most children and adolescence when prescribed age
appropriate resistance training guidelines. That's what it's about, quality instruction,
proper programming, and common sense. And I'm gonna be really
(16:11):
candid this program that my kids were asked to be
a part of. I looked into it when they first
opened in my area and what they were paying the
trainers speaks volumes. You get what you pay for, and
it wasn't that they didn't charge these kids. They are
making money hand over fist. And I find this offensive
(16:35):
to be brutally honest. Yeah, twenty kids kids paying you know,
X amount of dollars trainers aren't getting. They're not getting
what they should. Take that back, based on their education,
they're getting what they should, but they're not getting even
a significant portion of that take when it comes to
the team and you get what you pay for and
(16:57):
that's frightening because these are kids. These are kids. You
should have the best of the best. They are growing
and developing, and you darn well better know exactly what
you're doing. I mean that that should hold true for
parents and adults when you seek out a trainer, of course,
but kids. Yeah, And here's a real quick study back
(17:21):
to the exact reason. People don't think kids should strength train,
yet they put them in sports year round, the same sport,
the same repetitive movements. So here you go. This is
the British Journal of Sports Medicine, September two thousand six,
the study Physical Injuries in Children's and Youth Sports Reasons
(17:44):
for Concern question Mark. I'm just gonna give you one
quick takeaway from it. An accumulating number of clinical reports
indicate that sports training, if of sufficient duration and intensity,
may precipitate pathological changes of the growth plate end in
extreme cases, produce growth disturbance. Okay, so the very thing
(18:08):
that so many people believe. Oh, I can't have my
kids engage in some kind of really intelligent strength training,
but I'm gonna make them play soccer nine months out
of the year at age ten. That may precipitate pathological
changes of the growth plate and in extreme cases produce
growth disturbance. Common sense, what are you asking the kids,
(18:34):
the kid's bodies to do? All right? You know what,
Final break, I'm gonna give you one more study. Although
how great is that position paper? And it's not the
be all end all, but it's pretty darn good. And
I'll give you more reasons. I'm gonna tell you what
to do, and you tell you my reasons for doing it.
I've already kind of alluded to it, given it away,
(18:56):
but sports performance for my kids down the list when
it comes to the reasons why they have begun to
strength training. Okay, final break. We'll be right back all right,
(19:18):
talking about strength training and children. And you know you
can have children. You're probably saying, well, how young is
too young? Well again, i want you to think of
what you're asking your child to do sports wise, and
then the exercises I'm gonna give you to begin with
our body weight exercises. What do our kids do on
the playground? What do our kids do when they play outside?
(19:40):
They're playing outside anymore? Running, jumping, squatting, lunging, pushing up,
pulling up. Maybe we could use that as part of
the Intelligent plan and strength training program. Okay, let's go
back one more time, just to reiterate hammer this home.
The overuse injury, also called repetitive stress injuries, can affect
(20:03):
the growth plating kids and teens. Overuse injuries happen from
repeating the same movement over and over, and they usually
happen to people who what play sports, doing anything. I've
said this many times on this show. I don't care
how healthy it is running. If you only do that,
you're gonna have problems. And kids. We're not meant to
(20:25):
do sports year round. It's called an offseason for a reason.
Professional athletes have them. Okay, all right, let me get
to the final little study here. Strength Training in Children
and Adolescents is the name of the study, and this
was in Sports Health May two thousand nine, and I
quote the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of
(20:46):
Sports Medicine, the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine, and
the National Strength and Conditioning Association agreed that a supervised
strength training program that follows the recommended guidelines and precautions
is safe and effective for children. I know you're saying,
what are the guidelines and precautions. I will get to that.
But American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Sports Medicine.
(21:08):
By the way, another great certifying body, the American Orthopedic
Society for Sports Medicine. Okay. They go on to say
children gain strength through neural adaptations, not muscle hypertrophe. What
does that mean. I've talked about how when you begin
to strength training for the first time, you don't get bigger,
you get stronger, and you get stronger by the brain
(21:30):
connecting to the muscles. And this is important for kids.
You know, topic for another day, Great topic for another day.
But women girls have a six time higher incidents of
a c L injuries. Why is that. There's a bunch
of reasons, and part of that is learning how to jump,
learning how to land. There's hormonal things, but neural adaptations.
(21:53):
It's important. Okay. And this goes on to say youth
strength training programs should ideally incorporate a variety of resistance
types free weights, weight machines, rubber tubing, and medicine balls. Yeah,
all those things I talked about here on fitness disrupted variation.
It holds true for your kids as well. Shocking, right,
(22:14):
all right, So let's go to just we'll finish up
this and then get to what you what you do. Okay,
So they're talking about injuries in this paper, and they
talk about the case reports of injuries related to strength
training are primarily attributed to four things. Misuse of equipment,
(22:36):
inappropriate weight, improper technique, lack of qualified adult supervision, and
I threw in a fifth improper program design. They should
have included that it's not the age, it's the wrong
program with the wrong person. And let me get to
the different reasons for involving your kid in an exercise
(23:00):
program for strength training, and it's not for sports performance.
As the first reason, it's to prevent injury. I don't
want my kids to get hurt. That's the first reason
I'm going and and already are training them. I don't
wanted to get hurt because they are doing those sports,
so first and foremost I want them to be healthy.
(23:20):
And the stronger they are, the better balance they are,
the more they have those neural adaptations, the more they
learn how to jump and land and twist and turn.
I don't want them to have a c L injuries
or shoulder injuries only injury I ever had, and truthfully
was just bad luck. Is high school football rotator cuff
(23:42):
injury still dealing with it at fifty one. Happened at sixteen.
But I want my kids to have to go through
anything that is potentially preventable. The stronger they are, the
better they are going to be able to participate in
sports and in life. And that goes to other reasons, right,
creating a love of exercise at a young age that's
(24:04):
more important to me than the sports performance. And these
are not mutually exclusive. Just like, if you start exercising
as an adult to look better, you're gonna feel better
and live longer. And if you do it to feel better,
you're gonna look better and live longer. Same thing with kids.
So I want my kids to get involved in strength
training to prevent injury. That I want them to have
(24:26):
a great relationship with exercise in a positive way at
a young age. And part of that is that the
parents ideally are modeling. We are modeling what our kids
should do. So in other words, you darn well should
be involved in some type of exercise program if you're
asking your kids to play those sports as well, especially
at the levels some parents expect a little tough love, right,
(24:49):
And part of the solution to this is to do
the strength training programs with your kids. I've talked about
that in some recent podcast episodes and I will finish
this show with that as well. Okay, so yeah, sports performance, third, fourth,
fifth down the list, good behaviors, good habits at a
(25:10):
young age, injury prevention. Let's throw in the psychological show
could be three hours long. It won't be. But there's
significant mental benefits from engaging in an exercise routine strength
training at a young age as well, and those are
all really important. Okay, so what do you do? What
(25:31):
do you do? Back to that study strength training in
children and adolescents, I like their guidelines and here they are. Basically,
six to eight exercises are recommended that train your major
muscle groups, the kids major muscle groups. So you're talking chest, shoulders, back, arms, legs,
and your core, the basics. People. Everything I talked about
(25:52):
about strength training and exercise for adults holds true for kids,
and is that much more important. So six to eight exercises,
two to three exercises per muscle group. I would say
one to three. You don't have to do two three
especially for the younger age group. You're just getting them started.
It's about consistency. So I'm gonna say one to three.
(26:15):
They say two to three and one to two sets
per exercise. Totally agree. Three mind numbingly boring to even
me at this age. You don't have to but one
to two sets per exercise, six to fifteen repetitions. Okay,
we're just getting them started, people, You're just getting them
(26:36):
into exercise and into a routine. Ten to fifteen repetitions
can be completed with some fatigue, but no muscle failure. Okay,
you're not pushing your kid to major failure in his
or her routine. Six to eight exercises, two to three
(26:57):
exercises per muscle group. I'll say one to three, one
to two sets, six to fifteen repetitions, and they should
be challenged by the end of the final few repetitions,
but not struggling. Not for the kids, all right, And
I'm gonna start with body weight exercises. So if we're
(27:18):
talking ages of nine, eleven, twelve, let's say primarily body
weight exercises, then you can start to get into the
machines and the free weights and machines a little safer
than free weights, right, don't have to balance, don't have
to worry about dropping. This is the progression. You go, well,
(27:40):
it's no sports specific. Strength is strength and you need
to progress. And this is a huge problem that there
is no progression. So body weight to begin with. Then
I'm gonna take two machines if they're available. If not,
we're gonna slowly introduce weights, dumbbells, a barbell, medicine balls,
(28:01):
things like that. That's the way to do it. And
why are we doing this? To improve strength, to improve
those neural connections, to improve your balance and coordination of
the kids their motor performance skills. That's what's really important
at this age. And make it fun. Make it fun.
(28:22):
I have ladders and cones, really an expensive equipment that
I will throw out. You can do running drills, go
to a football field. You have the young boys, girls
who love that. You've got lines. Make it fun, balance
boards great thing to incorporate, working on body awareness and
(28:43):
that healthy love for movement. This is not drill, Sergeant,
this is not great Santini. This is fun and this
is time spent with apparent if you're the one doing it,
and it's getting them started. On the lifetime of health.
So let me pull this all together. Strength training for kids,
(29:08):
of course, if they are already engaged in sports, they're
already asking their bodies to do a lot. So now
to bulletproof their bodies slowly to get them stronger, You're
gonna do some strength training with a qualified professional. So
I've been talking about it as if you're doing it
(29:29):
with them, and that's how I encourage you to start.
That's how I encourage you to start. I do push ups,
as I've said before, with one of my sons Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
We do four sets. This is just part of the program,
but this is fun, and this is together, and this
is getting them started. It's done an hour of hardcore
(29:52):
working out with a trainer of questionable education, experience and goals.
It's getting them started slowly and potentially with you. Another
thing I do with my younger son when I go
for a run, he rides his bike with me down
the sidewalk. That's training, not strength training, but it's part
of it. And you know what, that's light training, so
(30:15):
sure it's cardiovascular, but it all matters. It's all part
of the plan. It's the cross training it's getting away
from that repetitive movement from the sports. I love running
hills with my boys. My younger son incapable of running
up a hill without laughing. It's fun. I'm doing it
with him. And it's part of strength training for kids.
(30:40):
So I get that many of you, and I have
many friends who have trainers for their kids. But I
want you to be aware, be aware of what is
out there as far as the science and kids, and
so you can maybe monitor. As I say this, it's
it's really hard to do for most of you what
the trainers do wing. But for those of you who
(31:02):
don't think that your boy or girl who's involved with
sports at a young age should be involved in any
strength training. That's the takeaway from this show is that yes, yes,
injury prevention, strength training, body awareness, strength training, not super heavy,
not super complicated. And as I wrapped this up, let
(31:23):
me say, you know, Mike Boyle, one of the best,
one of the absolute best. He talks about his kids
doing Olympic lifts. Now, I think they were a little
older teenagers at the time, but I'm gonna are on
the side of caution with my kids. They're not doing
Olympic lifts yet, and there are many kids that are
in many different programs that shall remain nameless, and I
(31:47):
know many of them will not get injured right there,
But I'm risk reward based, so body weight exercises to
start and slowly introduce those waits. All right, So this
is strength training for kids one oh one. And the
primary goal of this show was to debunk that myth
(32:09):
that it stunts your growth and that you shouldn't do it.
Not true, not true on either a count. And what
is most challenging to a young developing or one of
the things that is most challenging to their bodies, is
to do the same sport, the same movement, over and
over and over again. So there you go. Maybe I
should have made it a quick fit tip, but I joke.
(32:31):
You've got some frameworks, the sets and reps. Just keep
it simple people. The common sense part really is a
huge part of this topic. It's really a big part
because the expectations on those young developing bodies in the
sports should tell us that maybe we need to help
them with some strength training to prevent injury first and foremost. Okay, enough,
(32:57):
so strength training for children one oh one Science says yes, yes,
make it functional, make it natural progress, be smart about it,
get those kids as strong as possible naturally and set
them up for a lifetime of health and wellness. All right,
that's enough. Thank you so much for listening. You know,
(33:21):
tough topic to do in just one episode. So this
was the kickoff, as I said, and I'll give you
much more specific over time, but really important to know
that these kids should be doing, especially with obesity and
all of the detrimental aspects of our children's lives, we
need to be encouraging more movement, more fun movement, and
(33:43):
just healthier, healthier kids. Please subscribe to the show if
you have not already, rate the show, comment if you
can where you listen, and if you want to reach out,
Tom h Fit is my Instagram and my Twitter Tom
h Fit, and you can go to Fitness Disrupted dot
com as well. New book is The Micro Workout Plan,
if you have it, greatly appreciate reviews on Amazon, super
(34:06):
helpful to authors, and again, thank you, thank you for listening.
My goal is to now with a topic like this,
not only help you with your best life, but your
family and your kids. And we are for all your
parents listening. We are who are kids look up to?
(34:26):
So when I talk about strength training for kids, as
I said, that's why I threw in, do it with
your kids. Do the basics with your kids. And by
the way, real quick you can google. I have a
bunch of YouTube videos I've done for different companies workouts
parents and their kids, eight minute, six minute workouts that
(34:49):
you can do with them exactly what I described. That's
the way to start with your nine eleven year old.
All right, thank you for listening. I am Tom Holland.
This is Fitness Disrupted. Believe in yourself. Fitness Disrupted is
(35:10):
a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
I Heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to Fitness Disrupted, a production of I Heart Radio.
I am Tom Holland and this is Fitness Disrupted. One
of the questions I am asked frequently when it comes
(00:21):
to strength training is when can kids safely start strength training?
So often, you know a parent will ask me, Tom.
You know, I have a boy a daughter, and they
are usually involved in sports and they want to know
when it is safe for them to start strength training.
(00:44):
And this goes to some great myths and that is
a common topic of Fitness Disrupted is dispelling those common myths,
and this is perfect show to do just that. So
what is the myth? Well, generally speaking, the myth involved
with strength training and children is that it will stunt
(01:06):
your growth, that strength training will stunt your growth, that
it will prevent your growth plates from reaching their maximum potential,
essentially your bones from reaching their maximum potential, That it
will cause injury and be a negative disruption on those
(01:27):
growth plates. And what's really interesting is it's the sports
that's generally the problem there, and I will talk about that.
So basically, this show is strength training for children. Can
you do it? Should you do it? And if you should?
And if you can, what should you do. And I've
often talked about how I started strength training about fourteen
(01:47):
years old and single greatest thing obviously, uh that I
did back at that age, and I'm gonna talk about
that too, why we should do it way above and
beyond the sports and performance and things like that. And
that's a really important caveat and aspect of this topic
(02:08):
and this show is the sports specialization is that those
people asking, generally oftentimes have a young boy or girl
that is playing a sport, possibly year round. That's a
huge problem, and it's a problem I have myself as
a dad. I have two boys I've talked about frequently
(02:30):
and we'll use them as examples. And a specific example
this very topic was the first time I ever emailed
a coach. I'm not someone who interacts with a coach
unless I have to, and I'll explain why I did.
And it has to do with strength training and kids.
So there's a lot here, But that myth, that myth
(02:52):
about strength training stunting your growth not true, and it
cut right to the chase. And I'll give you the
science behind it, a couple of studies throwing it out there.
And this, by the way, I'm gonna call it strength
training for children one on one because it's not the
last time we'll talk about it here on the show.
And I did talk about it in one of my
(03:12):
first interviews with the incredible Mike Boyle, one of the
world's best strengthening conditioning coaches. You know, Boston red Sox,
Boston Bruin, so many Olympic athletes, and he's a big
proponent of strength training for children because he reads the science,
he looks at the research. So this myth, where does
(03:34):
this myth come from? Right? My grandparents? So many people
still believe that it's a bad idea. And again the
bad idea is the sports specialization. The sports specialization actually does,
according to the research, have the negative consequences that people
(03:55):
believe strength training at a young age does. How's that
for blow in your mind with the myth and the truth?
Quick break. When we come back, getting right into the
science strength training for children? Should you do it? How
soon should you do it? And if you should and
if you can, what do you do? We'll be right
(04:15):
back talking about strength training for children. And when we
talk about children, I'm gonna use read to you. I'm
gonna read a position statement from the Journal of Strength
(04:41):
and Conditioning Research, Journal of Strength and Conditioning, Body, National
Strength and Conditioning Association, and they define children as boys
and girls who have not yet developed secondary sex characteristics,
and that's approximately up to the age of eleven years
and girls in thirteen years and boys, and this period
(05:01):
of development is referred to as pre adolescence, and adolescence
refers to a period between childhood and adulthood and includes
girls aged twelve eighteen and boys aged fourteen to eighteen. Okay,
So talking about when you should start basically strength training
with your kids if you have them, and talked about
(05:22):
the myth that is the forefront of this discussion. And
let me start by giving that story I alluded to earlier. So,
two boys involved in sports and for one of their sports,
the entire teams we're going to strength train. And they
were young, I believe nine, okay, and that is when
(05:48):
I reached out to the coach and said, my son's
will not be involved in that. And it was hard.
It's because the whole team is doing it. It's a
huge part of the issue. You know, so often in
the topics I talked about here on Fitness Disrupted, they're multilayered.
There's many things going on, and so you've got the
sports specialization. We've got so many kids playing sports and
(06:10):
playing them more than ever before, and you don't want
your kid to get left behind. You're already involved, maybe
in a competitive sport, and then your team goes and
does something like that. So outside of just the regular
practices and games, now they are strength training as a team.
And it was really hard. Hard, not from my professional standpoint,
but I've explained to my son why can't do it?
(06:34):
And I have to say to the coach, you know,
he won't be involved in this team activity. Here's the thing, though,
I didn't believe he couldn't do a and be involved
in a strength training program, just not that one. And
I'll tell you why after so nine ten years old,
can you engage in strength training? Here's the thing, everybody,
let's start from this. Your kids are doing those sports
(06:58):
sort of the words. They are extremely physically active, whether
it's hockey or baseball, or soccer, or swimming or tennis,
you name the sport. What are the challenges on their
muscular skeletal systems, especially when they are playing so many
(07:18):
games and so many practices and the seasons are so long,
and what movements are they doing? Gymnastics? So we have
to start from that physical standpoint that they're already involved
in an insane, oftentimes amount of exercise, that that is
asking a lot of those little bodies. So does it
(07:41):
not maybe make common sense that you could engage in
some sort of strength training. And then the reasons are why.
I'm gonna get to those, But just from that first argument,
it would make sense that it shouldn't be that crazy
a thought to think that they can be involved in
(08:02):
more exercise. It may be different exercise, and maybe exercise
for important reasons. So let's go back real quickly to
the growth plate. Let's just describe what it is. What
are people going to I don't I've heard that myth,
but I have no idea what it is really Simply,
what is a growth plate? Growth Plates are the areas
of new bone growth in children's and teens. It's it's
cartilage essentially. Okay, they usually close when near the end
(08:27):
of puberty. So this is interesting when you start to
do the math on the ages and the sports and
what we're asking of our kids. So for girls generally speaking,
and this has changed over the years thanks to numerous things.
But let's say end of puberty for girls maybe thirteen
to fifteen, and for boys later fifteen to seventeen. And
(08:47):
again there's a wide range. Some kids at seventeen have
been done with sports for three or four five years,
the ones you started at six, same thing with the girls. Okay,
So to think that you're not going to engage in
any kind of strength training ntil seventeen for boys or
to fifteen. So is this growth plate myth doesn't hold water?
(09:13):
And the answers no. The answers no. Out of all
of the topics I've had on this show, you know,
there's usually boast, often two sides to it. That's the challenge, right,
you gotta look at the studies. You gotta look at
who did them. This one pretty straightforward, pretty cut and dried,
pretty black and white. Try to find studies that show definitive,
(09:36):
concrete evidence that strength training and children when done the
way I will describe is problematic stunts your growth negatively
affects the growth plates. This is the toughest topic to
find that counter argument, it's really not there. And usually
myths come from somewhere and then they're blown up and
(09:57):
and distorted, but not really in this case, this is
just a myth and if you really look back that
they talk about injuries from strength training, but it didn't
really have to do with stunting of your growth and
all of the aspects of that myth not there, not there. So, yeah,
(10:20):
why didn't I allow my kids to get involved in
that strength training program with the Team's really simple two reasons.
Quality the instructors to be brutally honest, and then the
fact it was a group dynamic. And once again, these
are two criteria that are not looked at enough, especially
(10:42):
the group dynamic. The other part it's pretty straightforward, although
most people don't know what a qualified instructor is, and
that's a huge problem with fitness. You're listening to the
wrong people with little to know education or experience, and
then to think that they are not only working with
chill drin but groups. What happens in a group setting
(11:05):
A the instructor can't possibly monitor everyone. You've got kids
on a team and you're you're you're working out so
form proper form. Hello, So you've got an instructor issue,
You've got a group dynamic issue, and these are huge
issues and then their kids. So not the way I
(11:27):
personally want my kids to start their strength training programs.
So pretty easy decision for me when it came down
to it. Okay, so let's get into the science, all right,
and I'm gonna start with I'm only gonna give you
a couple really important studies and position papers here that
should clarify it. Again, there's really not a lot of
(11:50):
counter arguments based in science. Youth resistance training updated position
statement paper from the National Strength and Conditioning Associate And
this is the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, August
two thousand nine, a little while back. But this is
is pretty straightforward, and I'm going to read you verbatim
(12:11):
a couple of paragraphs because it will clarify right away. Okay,
So we're talking about growth plates, bone health, you know, cartilage,
and here is their take on it. Okay. Despite traditional
fears that resistance training would be harmful to the immature
skeletal growth of youth, current observations suggests that childhood and
(12:32):
adolescents maybe the opportune time for the bone modeling and
remodeling process to respond to the tensile and compressive forces
associated with weight bearing activities. Remember, movement is really good.
Weight bearing activity is good. Sitting around doing nothing is
not good for our bodies, especially when we are building
(12:53):
strength and bones and things like that. They go on.
If age specific resistance training guidelines are followed, and if
nutritional recommendations, for example, adequate calcium are adhered to, regular
participation in a resistance training program can maximize bone mineral
density during childhood and adolescence. Moreover, there is no detrimental
(13:16):
effect of resistance training on linear growth in children and adolescence.
Right there, there's the paragraph, and back to the way
I started this program. When adults, when you know, parents
reach out to me about their children and strength training,
this is the first thing I send them. This is
(13:37):
the first thing I send them, and then we could
take it from there. This is one of the top
certifying bodies. You know, when you get a certification, I
have this one. I got this one years ago National
Strength and Conditioning Association. You know, if you want a
great certification as a trainer in strength, Olympic lifts, things
(13:57):
like that, you get this one and they have great research.
Let me give you show more two more quick paragraphs
from that position statement. Various combinations of resistance training program
variables have proven to be safe and effective for children,
providing that the program developers used scientific information, established training principles,
(14:20):
and common sense. Right there, How often do I stop
when I'm reading, you know, a study, and you can't
overlook how important those three specific points are. Providing that
program developers use scientific information almost never done, you go, oh,
you're exact, No, I'm not exaggerating. Almost never done, established
(14:41):
training principles these people don't necessarily know. And common sense. Wow,
common sense. I love it's it's so rarely thrown in there.
I talked about it here on the show. I say,
we take the research, the science, and then we take
the anecdotal, and then we take common sense, and you
put all of these together, all these together, especially with kids.
(15:05):
One final paragraph from the position statement paper. Despite outdated
concerns regarding the safety or effectiveness of youth resistance training,
scientific evidence and clinical impressions indicate that youth resistance training
has the potential to offer observable health and fitness value
to children and adolescence. Once again, here we go, provided
(15:27):
that appropriate training guidelines are followed and qualified instruction is available.
In addition to performance related benefits, which, by the way,
is the farthest down the list of reasons to do
it that I will get to the effects of resistance
training on selected health related measures, including bone health, body composition,
(15:48):
and sports injury reduction. That's going to be number one
for me. Should be recognized. These health benefits can be
safely obtained by most children and adolescence when prescribed age
appropriate resistance training guidelines. That's what it's about, quality instruction,
proper programming, and common sense. And I'm gonna be really
(16:11):
candid this program that my kids were asked to be
a part of. I looked into it when they first
opened in my area and what they were paying the
trainers speaks volumes. You get what you pay for, and
it wasn't that they didn't charge these kids. They are
making money hand over fist. And I find this offensive
(16:35):
to be brutally honest. Yeah, twenty kids kids paying you know,
X amount of dollars trainers aren't getting. They're not getting
what they should. Take that back, based on their education,
they're getting what they should, but they're not getting even
a significant portion of that take when it comes to
the team and you get what you pay for and
(16:57):
that's frightening because these are kids. These are kids. You
should have the best of the best. They are growing
and developing, and you darn well better know exactly what
you're doing. I mean that that should hold true for
parents and adults when you seek out a trainer, of course,
but kids. Yeah, And here's a real quick study back
(17:21):
to the exact reason. People don't think kids should strength train,
yet they put them in sports year round, the same sport,
the same repetitive movements. So here you go. This is
the British Journal of Sports Medicine, September two thousand six,
the study Physical Injuries in Children's and Youth Sports Reasons
(17:44):
for Concern question Mark. I'm just gonna give you one
quick takeaway from it. An accumulating number of clinical reports
indicate that sports training, if of sufficient duration and intensity,
may precipitate pathological changes of the growth plate end in
extreme cases, produce growth disturbance. Okay, so the very thing
(18:08):
that so many people believe. Oh, I can't have my
kids engage in some kind of really intelligent strength training,
but I'm gonna make them play soccer nine months out
of the year at age ten. That may precipitate pathological
changes of the growth plate and in extreme cases produce
growth disturbance. Common sense, what are you asking the kids,
(18:34):
the kid's bodies to do? All right? You know what,
Final break, I'm gonna give you one more study. Although
how great is that position paper? And it's not the
be all end all, but it's pretty darn good. And
I'll give you more reasons. I'm gonna tell you what
to do, and you tell you my reasons for doing it.
I've already kind of alluded to it, given it away,
(18:56):
but sports performance for my kids down the list when
it comes to the reasons why they have begun to
strength training. Okay, final break. We'll be right back all right,
(19:18):
talking about strength training and children. And you know you
can have children. You're probably saying, well, how young is
too young? Well again, i want you to think of
what you're asking your child to do sports wise, and
then the exercises I'm gonna give you to begin with
our body weight exercises. What do our kids do on
the playground? What do our kids do when they play outside?
(19:40):
They're playing outside anymore? Running, jumping, squatting, lunging, pushing up,
pulling up. Maybe we could use that as part of
the Intelligent plan and strength training program. Okay, let's go
back one more time, just to reiterate hammer this home.
The overuse injury, also called repetitive stress injuries, can affect
(20:03):
the growth plating kids and teens. Overuse injuries happen from
repeating the same movement over and over, and they usually
happen to people who what play sports, doing anything. I've
said this many times on this show. I don't care
how healthy it is running. If you only do that,
you're gonna have problems. And kids. We're not meant to
(20:25):
do sports year round. It's called an offseason for a reason.
Professional athletes have them. Okay, all right, let me get
to the final little study here. Strength Training in Children
and Adolescents is the name of the study, and this
was in Sports Health May two thousand nine, and I
quote the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of
(20:46):
Sports Medicine, the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine, and
the National Strength and Conditioning Association agreed that a supervised
strength training program that follows the recommended guidelines and precautions
is safe and effective for children. I know you're saying,
what are the guidelines and precautions. I will get to that.
But American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Sports Medicine.
(21:08):
By the way, another great certifying body, the American Orthopedic
Society for Sports Medicine. Okay. They go on to say
children gain strength through neural adaptations, not muscle hypertrophe. What
does that mean. I've talked about how when you begin
to strength training for the first time, you don't get bigger,
you get stronger, and you get stronger by the brain
(21:30):
connecting to the muscles. And this is important for kids.
You know, topic for another day, Great topic for another day.
But women girls have a six time higher incidents of
a c L injuries. Why is that. There's a bunch
of reasons, and part of that is learning how to jump,
learning how to land. There's hormonal things, but neural adaptations.
(21:53):
It's important. Okay. And this goes on to say youth
strength training programs should ideally incorporate a variety of resistance
types free weights, weight machines, rubber tubing, and medicine balls. Yeah,
all those things I talked about here on fitness disrupted variation.
It holds true for your kids as well. Shocking, right,
(22:14):
all right, So let's go to just we'll finish up
this and then get to what you what you do. Okay,
So they're talking about injuries in this paper, and they
talk about the case reports of injuries related to strength
training are primarily attributed to four things. Misuse of equipment,
(22:36):
inappropriate weight, improper technique, lack of qualified adult supervision, and
I threw in a fifth improper program design. They should
have included that it's not the age, it's the wrong
program with the wrong person. And let me get to
the different reasons for involving your kid in an exercise
(23:00):
program for strength training, and it's not for sports performance.
As the first reason, it's to prevent injury. I don't
want my kids to get hurt. That's the first reason
I'm going and and already are training them. I don't
wanted to get hurt because they are doing those sports,
so first and foremost I want them to be healthy.
(23:20):
And the stronger they are, the better balance they are,
the more they have those neural adaptations, the more they
learn how to jump and land and twist and turn.
I don't want them to have a c L injuries
or shoulder injuries only injury I ever had, and truthfully
was just bad luck. Is high school football rotator cuff
(23:42):
injury still dealing with it at fifty one. Happened at sixteen.
But I want my kids to have to go through
anything that is potentially preventable. The stronger they are, the
better they are going to be able to participate in
sports and in life. And that goes to other reasons, right,
creating a love of exercise at a young age that's
(24:04):
more important to me than the sports performance. And these
are not mutually exclusive. Just like, if you start exercising
as an adult to look better, you're gonna feel better
and live longer. And if you do it to feel better,
you're gonna look better and live longer. Same thing with kids.
So I want my kids to get involved in strength
training to prevent injury. That I want them to have
(24:26):
a great relationship with exercise in a positive way at
a young age. And part of that is that the
parents ideally are modeling. We are modeling what our kids
should do. So in other words, you darn well should
be involved in some type of exercise program if you're
asking your kids to play those sports as well, especially
at the levels some parents expect a little tough love, right,
(24:49):
And part of the solution to this is to do
the strength training programs with your kids. I've talked about
that in some recent podcast episodes and I will finish
this show with that as well. Okay, so yeah, sports performance, third, fourth,
fifth down the list, good behaviors, good habits at a
(25:10):
young age, injury prevention. Let's throw in the psychological show
could be three hours long. It won't be. But there's
significant mental benefits from engaging in an exercise routine strength
training at a young age as well, and those are
all really important. Okay, so what do you do? What
(25:31):
do you do? Back to that study strength training in
children and adolescents, I like their guidelines and here they are. Basically,
six to eight exercises are recommended that train your major
muscle groups, the kids major muscle groups. So you're talking chest, shoulders, back, arms, legs,
and your core, the basics. People. Everything I talked about
(25:52):
about strength training and exercise for adults holds true for kids,
and is that much more important. So six to eight exercises,
two to three exercises per muscle group. I would say
one to three. You don't have to do two three
especially for the younger age group. You're just getting them started.
It's about consistency. So I'm gonna say one to three.
(26:15):
They say two to three and one to two sets
per exercise. Totally agree. Three mind numbingly boring to even
me at this age. You don't have to but one
to two sets per exercise, six to fifteen repetitions. Okay,
we're just getting them started, people, You're just getting them
(26:36):
into exercise and into a routine. Ten to fifteen repetitions
can be completed with some fatigue, but no muscle failure. Okay,
you're not pushing your kid to major failure in his
or her routine. Six to eight exercises, two to three
(26:57):
exercises per muscle group. I'll say one to three, one
to two sets, six to fifteen repetitions, and they should
be challenged by the end of the final few repetitions,
but not struggling. Not for the kids, all right, And
I'm gonna start with body weight exercises. So if we're
(27:18):
talking ages of nine, eleven, twelve, let's say primarily body
weight exercises, then you can start to get into the
machines and the free weights and machines a little safer
than free weights, right, don't have to balance, don't have
to worry about dropping. This is the progression. You go, well,
(27:40):
it's no sports specific. Strength is strength and you need
to progress. And this is a huge problem that there
is no progression. So body weight to begin with. Then
I'm gonna take two machines if they're available. If not,
we're gonna slowly introduce weights, dumbbells, a barbell, medicine balls,
(28:01):
things like that. That's the way to do it. And
why are we doing this? To improve strength, to improve
those neural connections, to improve your balance and coordination of
the kids their motor performance skills. That's what's really important
at this age. And make it fun. Make it fun.
(28:22):
I have ladders and cones, really an expensive equipment that
I will throw out. You can do running drills, go
to a football field. You have the young boys, girls
who love that. You've got lines. Make it fun, balance
boards great thing to incorporate, working on body awareness and
(28:43):
that healthy love for movement. This is not drill, Sergeant,
this is not great Santini. This is fun and this
is time spent with apparent if you're the one doing it,
and it's getting them started. On the lifetime of health.
So let me pull this all together. Strength training for kids,
(29:08):
of course, if they are already engaged in sports, they're
already asking their bodies to do a lot. So now
to bulletproof their bodies slowly to get them stronger, You're
gonna do some strength training with a qualified professional. So
I've been talking about it as if you're doing it
(29:29):
with them, and that's how I encourage you to start.
That's how I encourage you to start. I do push ups,
as I've said before, with one of my sons Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
We do four sets. This is just part of the program,
but this is fun, and this is together, and this
is getting them started. It's done an hour of hardcore
(29:52):
working out with a trainer of questionable education, experience and goals.
It's getting them started slowly and potentially with you. Another
thing I do with my younger son when I go
for a run, he rides his bike with me down
the sidewalk. That's training, not strength training, but it's part
of it. And you know what, that's light training, so
(30:15):
sure it's cardiovascular, but it all matters. It's all part
of the plan. It's the cross training it's getting away
from that repetitive movement from the sports. I love running
hills with my boys. My younger son incapable of running
up a hill without laughing. It's fun. I'm doing it
with him. And it's part of strength training for kids.
(30:40):
So I get that many of you, and I have
many friends who have trainers for their kids. But I
want you to be aware, be aware of what is
out there as far as the science and kids, and
so you can maybe monitor. As I say this, it's
it's really hard to do for most of you what
the trainers do wing. But for those of you who
(31:02):
don't think that your boy or girl who's involved with
sports at a young age should be involved in any
strength training. That's the takeaway from this show is that yes, yes,
injury prevention, strength training, body awareness, strength training, not super heavy,
not super complicated. And as I wrapped this up, let
(31:23):
me say, you know, Mike Boyle, one of the best,
one of the absolute best. He talks about his kids
doing Olympic lifts. Now, I think they were a little
older teenagers at the time, but I'm gonna are on
the side of caution with my kids. They're not doing
Olympic lifts yet, and there are many kids that are
in many different programs that shall remain nameless, and I
(31:47):
know many of them will not get injured right there,
But I'm risk reward based, so body weight exercises to
start and slowly introduce those waits. All right, So this
is strength training for kids one oh one. And the
primary goal of this show was to debunk that myth
(32:09):
that it stunts your growth and that you shouldn't do it.
Not true, not true on either a count. And what
is most challenging to a young developing or one of
the things that is most challenging to their bodies, is
to do the same sport, the same movement, over and
over and over again. So there you go. Maybe I
should have made it a quick fit tip, but I joke.
(32:31):
You've got some frameworks, the sets and reps. Just keep
it simple people. The common sense part really is a
huge part of this topic. It's really a big part
because the expectations on those young developing bodies in the
sports should tell us that maybe we need to help
them with some strength training to prevent injury first and foremost. Okay, enough,
(32:57):
so strength training for children one oh one Science says yes, yes,
make it functional, make it natural progress, be smart about it,
get those kids as strong as possible naturally and set
them up for a lifetime of health and wellness. All right,
that's enough. Thank you so much for listening. You know,
(33:21):
tough topic to do in just one episode. So this
was the kickoff, as I said, and I'll give you
much more specific over time, but really important to know
that these kids should be doing, especially with obesity and
all of the detrimental aspects of our children's lives, we
need to be encouraging more movement, more fun movement, and
(33:43):
just healthier, healthier kids. Please subscribe to the show if
you have not already, rate the show, comment if you
can where you listen, and if you want to reach out,
Tom h Fit is my Instagram and my Twitter Tom
h Fit, and you can go to Fitness Disrupted dot
com as well. New book is The Micro Workout Plan,
if you have it, greatly appreciate reviews on Amazon, super
(34:06):
helpful to authors, and again, thank you, thank you for listening.
My goal is to now with a topic like this,
not only help you with your best life, but your
family and your kids. And we are for all your
parents listening. We are who are kids look up to?
(34:26):
So when I talk about strength training for kids, as
I said, that's why I threw in, do it with
your kids. Do the basics with your kids. And by
the way, real quick you can google. I have a
bunch of YouTube videos I've done for different companies workouts
parents and their kids, eight minute, six minute workouts that
(34:49):
you can do with them exactly what I described. That's
the way to start with your nine eleven year old.
All right, thank you for listening. I am Tom Holland.
This is Fitness Disrupted. Believe in yourself. Fitness Disrupted is
(35:10):
a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
I Heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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