Kids and Exercise Machines
By Brian Grasso
There is no real danger in kids performing machine based training
under the proper supervision and appropriate guidelines. Many
studies done the world over have concluded that strength based
training programs done on this kind of fitness equipment is very
safe for young children (again under appropriate guidelines). My
issue is not whether or not kids CAN perform this kind of
training, my question is WHY they need to.
Back tracking for a second, I have watched (as I'm sure we all
have) a very young baby struggle to get to their feet. In terms of
strength output, this equates to a near maximal load. No one seems
to be concerned about it until that child becomes eight or so
years old and wants to lift weights... Then people want to call
the police on you because you had the ignorance to let a child
perform strength training! The bottom line is that kids CAN handle
strength training based loads... heck they do everyday -
hopscotch, tag, bowling, ANY sport - all these things require
varying degrees of strength.
Now the question of why. I just have never been convinced by any
article, book or study championing child strength training that
kids SHOULD use machine based fitness equipment. The reality is
that sport AND life are based on the functionality of movement.
Juan Carlos refers to it as the Four Pillars of human movement;
Paul Check has a similar model which incorporates six stages. My
point being is that weather you are dealing with a young athlete
or just a young fitness participant, your goals should involve
obtaining health and/or sporting proficiency on a useable level.
Machines provide support (I have trained so many young athletes
who simply cannot produce stability in all three planes), and the
force application is both pre-set (which just begs for
biomechanical dysfunction) as well as pre-guided (unfortunately
sport and life are not).
My other concern with machines is that they inhibit two very
important concerns when dealing with young athletes (actually when
dealing with anyone):
1. It is very hard to train unilaterally when using machines (one
side of the body at a time). Unilateral training, in my mind, is
one of the most crucial components of developing young athletes.
2. You simply cannot train (either produce force through or learn
to stabilize) the transverse plane. As referenced in many
Kinesiology based books, over 85% of our core musculature is
oriented horizontally or diagonally - we are designed for
rotation, yet machines don't allow for it.
My suggestion for working with young athletes (and this is based
on several factors including age, emotional maturity, current
physical proficiency) is as follows -
- Don't engage kids in exercises that promote external stability
or useless force production. The key to working with young
athletes in any sport is to promote mobility, stability and
balance in conjunction with force. Young athletes need to have a
virtual warehouse of athletic based skills in order to reach
optimal levels. This is achieved by moving and stabilizing the
body through various planes and producing force through various
vectors. A common sequence as put forth by esteemed professionals
such as Paul Check is as follows: flexibility before stability -
stability before strength - strength before power.
- Incorporate unilateral strengthening activities (one leg at a
time, for example). Most force production in sport is unilaterally
based. This strategy also assists in training balance and avoiding
unilateral overuse injuries.
- Add dynamic flexibility activities into workouts on a regular
basis. Range of motion style flexibility is proven to be far more
important to athletics than traditional static flexibility.
- While bodybuilding type strength training is entirely useless to
young athletes, a well educated professional should start teaching
the movements and techniques associated with the Olympic and Power
lifts at an early age (11 - 12 years old). These lifts include
cleans, squats, push-press, snatch etc. Keep the exercises
unweighted (i.e. use a broom handle rather than a weight bar) and
concentrate on developing perfect and explosive power through
technique.
- Don't underestimate the importance and value of basic 'games'
such as tag, tug of war and single leg tug of war.
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