Is weight training okay for children?

Well let’s put it this way; We can allow a child to sprint which has the ground reaction force equivalent of five times his or her own body weight per stride. Many sports coaches are comfortable allowing kids to perform Push Ups until their arms are about to drop off but heaven forbid that little Billy picks up a freaking dumbbell! In a nut shell, it's okay. However, there are rules we should follow.

1. Don't use too much resistance - A child’s skeleton is still developing and will continue to do so up until the age of 21. If the child is younger than 16, keep it light. This will provide bone density development but allow the immovable joints to maintain their structure until they fuse into a solid piece.

2. Focus on movement patterns - Compound exercises are great for even structural balance and categorising them into movement patterns are a fantastic way of adding practicality to a routine by mimicking sports movements. Consider grouping exercises this way:

Push

Pull

Squat

Hinge

Relocating

Gait

Rotate

4. Don't allow a child to weight train too often - Remember that they are still growing. Twice a week is enough for a child and only half an hour per session is needed.

5. Keep it fun! When ever we go about a childs conditioning, we must focus on what we want for the child long term. Let your child or young athlete to enjoy conditioning and give them an everlasting positive outlook on the gym environment.

Here is an example I used today with a young Cardiff Academy player:

10 medicine ball throws with a 5kg slam ball. Make it a competitions. Let your young star attempt to beat his last throw!

3 sets of 10 repetitions, battling rope slam downs. Take a 1 minute rest in between.

3 sets of 5 box jumps on a box which is at knee hight.

3 sets of 5 meter RDL walks.

3, 20 meter Prowler Pushes with an unweighted Prowler.

Remember, keep it fun!