Youth and Resistance Training

[Guest guest]

In 2002 the British Association of Sports and Exercise Science,

released a document outlining guidelines for resistance exercise in

young people.

I would be interested in the groups opinions on this document and for

those who have not seen the guidelines, their opinions on the

recommendations which included:

1)'Young people' should engage in resistance exercise at least twice a week

2)Child athletes and non-athletic young adults should be taught

bodyweight resistance exercises before they begin training with

external weight.

Thank You.

Swinton

Aberdeen, Scotland

[Guest guest]

To consider the recommendations, we'd have to consider the definition

of 'resistance exercise' as used by BASES. Gravity is resistance.

Momentum is resistive. Fluid is resistive (as is air.) In the

purest definition, running is even resistance training, because you

are overcoming the resistance of gravity and surface friction (drag)

of air around your body.

My opinion:

1) Young people should engage in ANY exercise at least twice a week.

As Dr. Siff pointed out on a few occasions, the compressive forces -

usually so worrisome to those against weight-bearing exercise in

children - are much higher in simple running, jumping, bounding, and

childlike play than any encountered in a weight room. While overhead

lifting is generally referenced as 'highest risk,' kids in rural

areas grow up pitching hay and throwing rocks and climbing trees

today, as far as I know.

2) Child athletes and young adults should, of course, be taught

bodyweight exercises before being introduced to external weight. The

same could also be said for any new trainee, though I take the point

that the importance is to be particularly stressed in children.

Part of the problem is paralysis by analysis here - kids aren't being

shoved outside to play, they're being organized into exercise.

Exercise need not be prescribed, ordained, nor even organized.

Resistance exercise need not equal cast iron plates; as described

(albeit poorly) above, all movement is resisted. Is this what's

killing intuitive exercise (ie play) in the 1st world: the need to

plan and implement 3 hours of this sort and 5 hours of this sort and

8 reps of going down the slide followed by 12 swings and 18 hangs on

the monkey bars (the half-rep doesn't count, keep the hand-over-hand

movement slow and controlled, please!)? It's the old Death of a

Thousand Cuts!

CSCS

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

> In 2002 the British Association of Sports and Exercise Science,

> released a document outlining guidelines for resistance exercise in

> young people.

>

> I would be interested in the groups opinions on this document and for

> those who have not seen the guidelines, their opinions on the

> recommendations which included:

>

> 1)'Young people' should engage in resistance exercise at least twice a week

>

> 2)Child athletes and non-athletic young adults should be taught

> bodyweight resistance exercises before they begin training with

> external weight.

>

> Thank You.

>

> Swinton

> Aberdeen, Scotland