Is It Time for my Kid to Start Lifting Weights? Part 1

A recent article in the Chicago Area Daily Herald on August 2, 2010 prompted me to write this post.

Let's say your child is 8-10 years old and you are considering that he or she start lifting weights. It may be for health, fitness or athletic reasons. Whatever your reasoning, both the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) support youth resistance training and offer position papers through their websites.

Consider the positive aspects of resistance training for kids. A properly designed strength training program can improve physical strength beyond normal age related development. Faigenbaum et al reported in Pediatric Exercise Science that as high as 74% of children involved in an 8-week training program showed "dramatic" strength improvements. It has also been reported that children will lose those gains if program is not continuous. William Kramer a leading authority in the world of strength training research published in Lifestyle Medicine that children need a variety of modalities such as weight machines, isometric exercises, modified pull-ups, manual resistance and calisthenics in order to eliminate boredom.

If you are concerned about your child's sport experience your instincts are right on. Since the 1970's youth sport has exploded. Unfortunately, today children are ill-prepared to compete so often. Practice has decreased and games have increased. Add in the multi-sport athlete who may be playing more than one sport during the same season; Result, an increase in emergency room visits involving children who play youth sport. Don't get me wrong a well planned, organized and properly coached sport is great for kids. The issue is 'are' they prepared physically to play. Playing your way into shape is just dangerous and professional, Olympic, college and most high school athletes don't train that way anymore. Most if not all will train all year to prepare for their up-coming season.

A strength program as part of a child's overall physical training is a valuable tool for development. Time spent in the weight room can help develop a work ethic and teach an athlete the relationship between hard work and positive results. Observations in the weight room can also be a predictor of an athlete's level of concentration, how the youth handles fatigue, and competitive spirit. The obvious marker of a strength program is that a stronger athlete can do more with less energy than a weaker one.

Don't forget about the fun sport should provide a child. A well designed strength program for an 8-10 year-old should not look like a college level program. It should incorporate fun into it or boredom will occur. Sport for some adults is serious business, but your child is a child not a miniature adult. If you, as a parent, expect or demand that your 8-year-old do specific lifts or exercises you're asking for trouble. Too much too soon is why kids end up in the emergency room. Youth programs will increase strength but the difference between a 12-year-old and a 14-year old is significant.

Burger Night

Burger Sunday Night.

1.5 Lbs of ground beef (we use 15% fat)
.5 Cup Red Quinoa (dry--before cooking)
.5 Lg Chopped Brown onion
1 cup chopped spinach
1 clove crushed garlic
Salt and Pepper

Mix together and form into patties

We use whole grain wheat buns with avocado, fresh celebrity tomatoes and sliced heirloom tomatoes.

Garnish with grilled green onion and add some sweet potatoes fries, baked.

A little resistance training

If you are using resistance training as part of your fitness or performance training routine this may help you with the question; How many sets?

If you're training for general health then 1 set per exercise is adequate. I'll define general health as not working to achieve maximal strength gains. For example one set of lat pull downs, chest press, leg press, etc to keep tone.

If you are working to reach maximal strength gains, then 1 to 3 sets of each exercise is recommended. Some studies indicate that when doing more than 3 sets per exercise a person will not receive any more benefit than a person doing 2 to 3 sets. However, everyone is different and you may find you will achieve more strength with more sets.

Additionally using a non-linear program may increase maximal strength more than a linear program. For example a linear program is 3 sets of 10 reps at 75% of 1RM done 3 to 4 days a week. A non-linear plan may look like this 3 sets of 2 repetitions [reps] at 90% of 1RM on Monday, 3 sets of 6 reps at 85% on Wednesday and 3 sets of 7 reps at 60% on Friday.

Be sure that you are aware of the volume you lift each day. The volume or total load [weight] lifted for 3 sets of 2 at 90% of 1RM on Monday when the 1RM is 100 is 3 x 2 x 90 = 540 total volume, on Wednesday, 3 x 6 x 85 = 1,530 and on Friday is 3 x 7 x 60 = 1,260 of total load or weight per exercise. So the heavy day is Wednesday. It's not on the day you lift 90% of 1RM as may people mistake, including some coaches.

Go hit the weights (but you may want to hire a coach to be safe)!

Back On My Bike

The last time I was on my bike was July 8th. I went about 20 miles. I had 4 summer league games to referee on Saturday the 10th so I took Friday off and dropped my bike off for a tune up at my favorite bike shop. When I arrived home from the NSCA conference [July 11-18] on Sunday the 18th, I buzzed over to pick up my bike. I wanted to hit the road in the morning.

I wanted to go 30 miles without much distraction so I drove to Yorba park in Yorba Linda, California to ride the Santa Ana River path. I was on the bike and riding before 8am. The bike felt great. Well tuned by the guys at Don's Bicycle in Rialto. I hadn't been on the bike for 10 days so I didn't want to overreach my first day out. I had set two goals, to go about 30 miles and try to average 90 RPM within the first 10 minutes.

I got to 90 RPM within the first 3 miles and was felling great. I hadn't worked out since I refereed the games on the 10th, unless you count walking around Disney parks in Orlando for 3 days before the conference started and I was a little worried I'd get too competitive [I do that]. However, I felt so good I decided to see if I could push my average cadence to 100 RPMs. I got there in 7.21 miles into the ride. So getting competitive I decided to challenge myself to average 100 RPMs for the first 15 miles of the ride.

So off I went spinning and felling great. I wondered as I rode if the bike feel was the new race tires Don's put on or the new chain, the tune-up itself or the fact that I had rested for a week. I was convinced I could average 100 RPMs for 15 miles and then after the first half mile, boom a head wind. I was still spinning, but I watched my speed drop below 18 MPH. I knew I had to focus on my peddle technique and position with the wind in my face and as I rode I watched my heart rate soar upwards into the 170s. Not a big deal for a kid, but I'm in my 50's.

I was really pushing myself. My heart rate was well into the 170's but I wasn't in any distress. My breathing was ok and my legs felt fine. I wasn't close to my lactate threshold I just knew I had to hold my heart rate around 173 to get to 15 miles and average 100 RPMs. I began to gauge the mileage I had left. I got to the 12.5 mile mark in good shape, then 13.6 and at 14 mile mark I knew I had it. I reached the 15 mile point made the turn and started back.

I was cruising along around the 85 RPM mark and decided I wanted to keep my RPMs above 90 for the ride. I rode along and with 12.5 mile left I felt fine my RPMs had come down to 98 but it didn't bother me. Ok, I noticed so I started to spin faster and with 8.9 miles left I was completely recovered.

I finished the ride well before 9AM and used "the stick" to start my post-ride recovery. Spent about 7 minutes doing some ground core work, loaded my bike, changed my shirt and had a protein shake. Then I headed off to Whole Foods to buy some greens, fruits and other veggies. But first I turned up the radio as it played "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" and I played a little air guitar. Enjoy the day.

Sunday table

We're having 7oz chicken breasts marinated in fresh Valencia orange juice, cilantro, leaves from a sprig of oregano and a minced chipotle pepper. Then grilled with a cocoa (unsweetened) and spice rub (cinnamon, grey salt, coriander, cloves, nutmeg & white pepper-smells good).

The chicken is served over a blend of ramps, shallot, garlic, fiddle head fern, a jalapeno, smoked bacon, morels, roasted corn and black beans.

For desert a Greek yogurt parfait with banana and fresh strawberries.