The Importance of Strength Training in Youth
Strength training isn’t just a good way to improve looks, and it’s not just for adults. Regular strength training provides health benefits that can and should be realized in youth, and is one of the most important health behaviors to include in our routines as each year goes by. This article is going to cover the health benefits of strength training in children and teenagers.
Strength training in kids has gotten an unfair bad rap in the past, and the lingering effects of positions held by trusted professional organizations unrooted in science are still present today (1). The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a position statement in 1983 asserting that children who have not yet reached puberty should be extremely cautious when lifting weights and should not compete in weightlifting (Olympic-style weightlifting) (2). This wariness towards strength training was based somewhat on a fear of injuring the growth plate, which is part of a child’s bone that determines its length and shape when they mature. This sentiment was echoed in similar position statements by the AAP in 1990 and 2001. However, this concern of damaging the growth plate through strength training was not based on scientific evidence. The most recent AAP position statement now asserts, “Scientific research supports a wide acceptance that children and adolescents can gain strength with resistance training with low injury rates if the activities are performed with an emphasis on proper technique and are well supervised (3).”
While this more recent stance is encouraging, the damage from decades of youth strength training alarmism has been done. My former weightlifting coach chose to adapt his lifting routine for new young weightlifters to ease parents’ worries. He would have the kids initially lift heavy medicine balls rather than barbells, although they weighed similarly, because parents were more accepting of seeing their child lift a ball rather than a bar. It’s important for parents and guardians to understand that injuries can occur in any type of physical activity or sport, and the sport of weightlifting has fairly low injury rates with severe injuries being a rarity (4). To reduce injury risk, any youth strength training program should include appropriate adult supervision with knowledge of youth strength training guidelines including an emphasis on technique, use of safe equipment, and done in a comfortable temperature. I discuss this topic in the video below.
Now that we’ve gotten the safety concerns about youth and weights out of the way, let’s talk about the health benefits. Children with low muscle strength relative to how much they weigh are more likely to have increased cardiometabolic risk, which means higher blood pressure, blood glucose (sugar), and waist circumference, and unhealthy levels of blood lipids/fats (triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol) (5). Childhood, especially prepuberty, is a critical period when bone tissue is more responsive to exercise (6). Participating in weight-bearing activities like strength training, running, jumping, gymnastics, tennis, and cheerleading can lead to increased bone mass in youth that can have lifelong health implications, and may decrease the risk of osteoporosis in their later years. Bone and muscle have a synergistic relationship, in that they tend to grow together. Bones become stronger when muscles pull on them, creating a mechanical strain on the bone to which it must adapt. Strenuous activities like strength training involve muscle applying a force to bone, resulting in increased muscle mass and bone tissue.
Regular strength training in children and teenagers can increase both muscle size and bone thickness, although muscle size changes to a greater degree in teenagers due to hormonal differences (7). Muscle tissue plays a pivotal role in many normal functions of the body including metabolism, organ and tissue preservation, and inflammation (8). Strength training in childhood and adolescence can also help to reduce injury risk, increase bone mineral density (bone thickness) and lean mass (muscle, organs, and fluids), and improve muscular fitness (strength, power, and muscular endurance) and movement skills like running, jumping, and throwing (6, 9). Developing these movement skills in youth is important as it helps to increase confidence and enjoyment in physical activity, and can have lifelong effects on exercise, physical activity, and sport involvement (10). In teenagers, regular strength training has also been found to decrease body fat, improve insulin resistance, and boost mental health (11). These benefits are particularly relevant for youth with excess body weight who find traditional aerobic activities, like jogging, challenging, and who may have certain emotional health needs.
While it is certainly reasonable to be concerned about injury risk in any type of physical activity, exercise, or sport, the benefits of appropriately supervised strength training in youth outweigh the risks. Participating in weight-bearing activities in youth can have lifelong health implications and may help to reduce conditions like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease in adulthood (12, 13).
Sources Used:
Pierce, Kyle R.; Brewer, Clive; Ramsey, Michael W.; Byrd, Ronald; Sands, William A.; Stone, Margaret E.; and Stone, Michael H.. 2008. Youth Resistance Training. Professional Strength and Conditioning Journal. Vol.10 9-23. ISSN: 1524-1602
Weight Training and Weight Lifting: Information for the Pediatrician. Phys Sportsmed. 1983 Mar;11(3):157-61. doi: 10.1080/00913847.1983.11708490. PMID: 27409556.
Paul R. Stricker, Avery D. Faigenbaum, Teri M. McCambridge, Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness, Cynthia R. LaBella, M. Alison Brooks, Greg Canty, Alex B. Diamond, William Hennrikus, Kelsey Logan, Kody Moffatt, Blaise A. Nemeth, K. Brooke Pengel, Andrew R. Peterson; Resistance Training for Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics June 2020; 145 (6): e20201011. 10.1542/peds.2020-1011
Pierce KC, Hornsby WG, Stone MH. Weightlifting for Children and Adolescents: A Narrative Review. Sports Health. 2022;14(1):45-56. doi:10.1177/19417381211056094
DeHondt, BG, Madi, SA, Drignei, D, Buchan, DS, & Brown, EC. Handgrip Strength Cut-Points for Cardiometabolic Risk Identification in U.S. Younger Population Dec 2022; https://doi.org/10.1080/1091367X.2022.2160254.
Faienza MF, Lassandro G, Chiarito M, Valente F, Ciaccia L, Giordano P. How Physical Activity across the Lifespan Can Reduce the Impact of Bone Ageing: A Literature Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Mar 13;17(6):1862. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17061862. PMID: 32183049; PMCID: PMC7143872.
Lloyd RS, Faigenbaum AD, Stone MH, Oliver JL, Jeffreys I, Moody JA, Brewer C, Pierce KC, McCambridge TM, Howard R, Herrington L, Hainline B, Micheli LJ, Jaques R, Kraemer WJ, McBride MG, Best TM, Chu DA, Alvar BA, Myer GD. Position statement on youth resistance training: the 2014 International Consensus. Br J Sports Med. 2014 Apr;48(7):498-505. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2013-092952. Epub 2013 Sep 20. PMID: 24055781.
Abou Sawan, Sidney; Nunes, Everson A.; Lim, Changhyun; McKendry, James; Phillips, Stuart M.. The Health Benefits of Resistance Exercise: Beyond Hypertrophy and Big Weights. Exercise, Sport, and Movement 1(1):e00001, January 2023. | DOI: 10.1249/ESM.0000000000000001
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Faigenbaum AD, Lloyd RS, Myer GD. Youth resistance training: past practices, new perspectives, and future directions. Pediatr Exerc Sci. 2013 Nov;25(4):591-604. doi: 10.1123/pes.25.4.591. PMID: 24214441.
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