Health-Bar.net

Strength training and conditioning may seem to be the realm of ripped bodybuilders, but a national sports group has just recommended that kids get in on the action, too. The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) has just published new guidelines for strength training and conditioning for children, noting that fears over safety shouldn’t prevent parents from getting kids involved in an activity that can build bones, boost cardiovascular health, and lead to lifelong healthy exercise behaviors.

THE DETAILS: Strength training and conditioning for children have always been approached with some hesitation, due to the risk of injury, but pediatricians and other child health professionals have always stuck by their recommendation that children get at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day. However, “strength training is safe,” says lead author Avery Faigenbaum, EdD, professor in the department of health and exercise science at The College of New Jersey, “and increasing strength training can enhance sport performance, reduce sport-related injuries, and enhance bone density. It also has cardio benefits, especially for overweight boys and girls.”

In the position statement, Faigenbaum writes that children should participate in two or three strength-training sessions per week on nonconsecutive days. The exercises aren’t limited to lifting weights, but can include resistance exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, squats, and other calisthenics too. He notes that in addition to the benefits listed above, strength training and conditioning for children can improve psychosocial health and well-being and help them develop healthy exercise habits that will extend into adolescence and adulthood.

WHAT IT MEANS: Getting kids started with resistance training doesn’t have to go much farther than the playground, says Faigenbaum. “The activities kids perform on the playground—jumping, skipping, pulling, pushing—more closely resemble resistance training than anything else,” he says. “It’s just a matter of taking it from the playground into some structured program with quality instruction.”

Quality instruction is key, he adds. “I don’t want to be flippant,” Faigenbaum says. “There is a risk of injury, just as there is with Rollerblading, skiing, and football. But you’re not going to give your kid a pair of skis and say, ‘the black diamond is over there.’” He notes that kids can get involved in some pretty catastrophic accidents when lifting weights unsupervised. “But when they’re supervised, we just don’t see those injuries.” Nevertheless, he adds, “Parents often ask me what’s the riskiest activity their kids could get involved in, and I tell them, watching television.” According to the guidelines, kids are ready to try strength training as soon as they’re ready to play organized sports; typically, 7 to 8 years old.

Get your child active with the Children’s Health FitSchools iniative.

Finding the best program to get your kid off the couch can be difficult, but here are a few key qualities of a good kiddie personal trainer:

Look for the personal trainer triple play. The most child-friendly personal trainers must have three important qualities, says Faigenbaum. They must have certification in the field—you can find certified personal trainers on the NSCA’s website (http://www.nsca-lift.org/trainers/locator/) —as well as knowledge comparable to a bachelor’s degree in physical education or exercise science. Most important among their qualifications, though, is “the trainer needs to have a philosophy consistent with the needs of children and adolescents.” He says that trainers need to be able to get kids excited about exercising and know how to read your child’s individual likes and needs, playing to their strengths while strengthening their weaknesses. “If the coach’s philosophy is win at all costs and no pain, no gain, go somewhere else,” he says.

Find someone who can make it fun. “A 10-year-old girl isn’t going to start resistance training because she wants to prevent osteoporosis when she’s 60,” says Faigenbaum. “Children exercise to have fun, make friends, and learn something new.” The best way to do this is to enroll your child in a class, rather than a one-on-one session, he says, which allows him or her to do all three and hopefully get inactive friends involved (or make new ones).

Don’t go it alone. Along those same lines, parents who are looking to save a little cash by renting exercise DVDs for a child to do at home alone aren’t doing him or her any favors, says Faigenbaum. “When you take other kids out of the equation, you’re taking the fun out,” he says, and they’re less likely to stick to the program. In addition, a lack of supervision could lead to injuries. If you do want to save a little money, look for a free child-oriented exercise class at a local YMCA or community center, or divide the $50 to $70 cost for an hour with a personal trainer with four or five other parents.

Your overweight child may need your involvement.

Make it mandatory, especially if your child is an athlete. One thing Faigenbaum stresses most is the benefit of weight training for child athletes. He notes that female athletes are particularly susceptible to ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tears, a painful knee injury that requires expensive surgery to correct and can sit an athlete out for an entire season. It’s one of the most common injuries to befall young athletes, and resistance training that strengthens the knees can reduce the risk substantially, he notes.