Although the ACSM in its most recent revision of its standards of care guide and resource manual now considers youth weight training to be safe and healthy, there remains in the medical community a strong bias against using physically taxing methods of strength training on teenage and younger populations. One professional association of pediatricians recommends that only moderate weights with moderate repetitions be used. They strongly discourage high volume work (enough sets and reps to increase muscle mass) and they strongly discourage high intensity work, the kind necessary to develop strength and power. They provide a variety of apparently sound reasons for training youth using only machines with pre-determined movement pathways, thus limiting the development of balance and coordination. This group of pediatricians actually recommends that all high intensity and high volume training be postponed until full sexual maturity. This would effectively remove the vast majority of high school athletes from weight rooms and compromise an athlete's safety and performance during full-contact sporting events (which interestingly enough are not recommended against).
When the scientific and medical literature is evaluated objectively, a different picture emerges. Training loads (relative to 1RM), frequencies, and durations similar to those commonly used in the training of competitive weightlifters are effective in increasing strength in children, and a significant body of scientific evidence and practical experience supports this fact. Strength increases in youth are closely related to the intensity of training; higher intensity programs can and do increase strength in preadolescents in 6 weeks or less.
Figure 9-2. Much data shows that weight training does not diminish growth in children. Carla (5' 7 1/2") and 13 year old daughter Samantha Nichols, national junior weightlifting champion since age 9, provide compelling evidence that genetically similar individuals' stature is not affected adversely by weightlifting. Sammy is shown here at 5' 5 1/2" and at 5' 8" in pictures taken about one year apart. Weight training may someday 'stunt' her growth, but it needs to hurry up. The safety of this type of training is well documented. Programs supervised by qualified coaches, and in which training loads are prescribed and monitored by professionals have proven to be safer than typical physical education classes. Several studies since the 1970’s have reported extremely low to zero rates of injury during training programs of from several weeks to a year in duration, and have suggested that weight training prevents injury rather than causes it. Even the handling of maximal weights by children has been scrutinized for safety. Dr. Avery Faigenbaum showed that properly supervised maximal lifting in 6 to 12 year-olds resulted in no injuries, providing further evidence that even high-intensity training, properly supervised, can be a safe and healthy undertaking for children.
Properly conducted weight training programs are safe for children because they are scalable: the loads used can be precisely adjusted to the ability of the child to use them with correct technique. Correct technical execution prevents injury, since by definition 'correct' means controlled, even if explosive movements are used. The load on a 5 kg. bar can be increased one kg. at a time, allowing very fine control over the stress that a child experiences in the weight room. Contrast this with team sports played on a field that involve a rapidly moving ball, other kids that are moving rapidly, and the ballistic nature of the skills used on the field. Uncontrolled impact and rapid deceleration are inherent in such sports, and render the forces they apply to a child's body unpredictable, completely unscalable, and therefore unsafe, as the injury-rate literature demonstrates conclusively. Add pads to this scenario, which blunt the perception of the effects of impact between the players, and leverage-type injuries – which happen when kids run into each other when they know it won't hurt very badly – are the result.
If a young athlete has a well established history of weight training and has access to a coach, simple progression, weekly programming, and even advanced periodization can be extremely effective training models. The Hormonal Fluctuation model would be most appropriate and effective for advanced, older youth athletes who have previously progressed through weekly or monthly periodization.
Recommendations
Based on the available medical and scientific data, we strongly recommend the following:
- Weightlifting training programs for youth should be conducted by well-trained adults. Ideally, the supervising staff should be certified to coach by USA Weightlifting, the National Strength and Conditioning Association, or both. These organizations have easily accessible and effective coaching education programs. All weight training coaches and personal trainers should take a university course on how to teach weight training exercises, and more colleges and universities should offer such courses.
- To effectively and safely coach youth in weight training, a coach-to-trainee ratio of 1:12 or less is recommended. It must be understood that every weight room serving youth is a teaching environment not just a fitness facility where kids exercise. Any facility – private, commercial, or educational – that allows children and adolescents to train without instruction and active supervision is inviting disaster.
- Weight training should take place in facilities equipped to support safe training practices (housekeeping, behavior policies, equipment, emergency plans, etc.).
- Properly supervised skill-based weightlifting programs are appropriate for children and can commence as early as 6 years of age.
- Total exercise training time from all sources should not exceed 15 hours per week. Coaches must be aware of this and consider the cumulative effect of all of the child’s physical activities.
- The use of maximal training loads has been proposed to place the young athlete at risk of injury. No data currently exists that substantiates this allegation. The use of maximal and near-maximal loads is encouraged, under the proper supervision. These loads should be used cautiously and applied only as part of a regimented training program plan for technically proficient trainees. Each attempt must be supervised and safety measures must be in place.
- Training should be a fun enterprise. When training is no longer fun, kids will no longer train.