Age-Old Question: Are Children Too Young for Strength Training?

I always find it interesting when parents are more than happy to sign up their kids for sports with maximum effort sprinting and uncontrolled collisions but are very skeptical about weight training too young.

“Will it hurt my child’s growth plates?” They will feed their children terribly unhealthy diets with too much sugar and junk food but then … “Strength training? Won’t that stunt their growth?”

I understand that parents are just worried about the welfare of their children, and that’s great. But let’s just take a step back and see what there is to worry about. When sprinting, vertical ground reaction forces can reach up to five times body weight. That means your child is putting five times his body weight of force into the ground with every maximum velocity step. Sprinting has a higher intensity than most strength training. So just running in whatever sport your child is participating in is already providing more stress to their body than most strength training programs. So, is sprinting a problem, too?

When I was a kid, I didn’t realize strength training could make me run faster and jump higher. I knew it could make me bigger and stronger, but I wasn’t too concerned about that at the time. Now that I know better, I want my kids to have that opportunity I didn’t realize I had when I was young.

My son started strength training last year as a 12-year-old. He has since gotten much stronger, faster, and can jump a lot higher. I have seen his self-esteem and confidence increase because of these results, too. Is this strength work going to stunt his growth (he’s grown the most he’s ever grown in 12 months this past year) or affect his growth plates?

A systematic review published earlier this year in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health asked just these questions. This review examined research consisting of 604 prepubertal children, average age of 10, with 104 strength training programs recorded. The results were nothing but positive. Muscle strength was increased in 100% of cases, with sprint speed and vertical jump also increasing significantly. There were also great increases in general sport skills and physical abilities.

But the positives reached well beyond just increased sports performance. Results showed significant increases in lean body mass and significant decreases in body fat, regardless of gender and physical activity level. Since 1980, childhood obesity rates in the United States have almost tripled. According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 1 in 5 American children is obese, 1 in 3 overweight. The biggest contributor to this childhood obesity, according to the Mayo Clinic: lack of exercise.

Another result showed a positive effect on bone density. Which is great considering the increased rate of childhood fracture in the past few decades. I couldn’t find a reason for this increase but if I had to guess I would say it is probably diet and exercise related as well. Not included in this research but proved time and again as general strength training benefits are an increase in insulin sensitivity, positive hormone release, improved mood, decreased depression and anxiety (which has also been increasing dramatically as of late), and increased self-esteem. The negative aspects they found to this strength training: none. It turns out this prepubertal strength training may not be too bad after all.

So, what is the best age to get your child into strength training? I say whenever they want. They may not have the hormonal landscape to build a ton of muscle if they are young, but that does not take away from the myriad benefits listed above. Most kids won’t be able to lift heavy enough weight to injure themselves when they first start out, but form should always be an emphasis, so find a professional to help if you don’t know what you’re doing. There are plenty of trainers in Stone Harbor and Avalon who will be able to safely introduce a beginner to weight training. But the main emphasis at a young age should be fun. Try to get your kids to enjoy the process so you can help them incorporate exercise they enjoy into a healthy lifestyle. Once they get older and more experienced, they can focus more on getting maximum results.

Christmas is coming up if you are looking for any gift certificate ideas. And remember, these benefits aren’t just limited to kids. Get your butt to the gym. You, too, can sprint faster and jump higher.

Don’t worry, your growth plates closed long ago.