Training the Child Athlete

Over the years, the age at which children begin playing athletics has been pushed earlier and earlier.  This comes from parent’s drive to produce star athletes, to re-live their glory days vicariously through their children, to have their children physically active, etc.  Children are taught at early ages how to read and write and strive for excellence through academics, so the same can be said for athletics.  Emphasis needs to be placed on producing cardiorespiratory and musculoskeletal adaptations in these young athletes (6 to 13 years of age) in order for them to benefit the most from their efforts.  

Performing 30 minutes of continuous vigorous aerobic activity might not be the best to produce cardiorespiratory gains.  Since children are still developing, gains might not be as noticeable as they would be in adults doing continuous activity.  Also, children will get bored very quickly and lose motivation if training in this manner.  Try performing 30 minutes of interval training that would be more functional and applicable to their sports.  An example of an interval that could be used is 30 seconds of jumping jacks, a 10 second sprint, and a 30 second walk.  These three activities can be mixed up for 30 minutes to keep the workout interesting and effective.   

In children as young as 6 years of age, resistance training has been shown to produce musculoskeletal gains.  Once again, it is important to remember that these children are still growing.  Resistance training can be performed but by using lower resistance and higher repetitions.  So, choose an appropriate weight per exercise that can be performed for approximately 15 repetitions.