LEC12: Resistance Training for Youth Athletes

Question 1

Is resistance training safe?

Answer 1

Injury to growth plates
- SAID principle > mechanical stress from resistance training or other high-impact activities (ie. gymnastics) support bone formation and growth

Lack of tolerance to load could lead to injury
- Proper introduction to technical models, progressive increases of intensity, and monitoring by qualified professionals mitigate this risk
- 77% of resistance training-related injuries in adults and youth are accidental -> supports the importance of trained professionals

Question 2

What is the SAID principle?

Answer 2

Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands
- specific exercise elicits specific adaptations to elicit specific training effects

ex. Swimmers who swam 1hour/day, 3x/week for 10 weeks showed almost no improvement in running VO2max

Question 3

Definition of Childhood

Answer 3

Represents the developmental period of life from the end of infancy to the beginning of adolescence

Question 4

Definition of Children

Answer 4

Girls and boys (generally up to the age of 11 and 13 years, respectively) who have not developed secondary sex characteristics

Question 5

Definition of Adolescence

Answer 5

Period of life between childhood and adulthood. Difficult to define in terms of chronological age due to differential maturation rates (girls: 12-18 years; boys: 14-18 years)

Question 6

Definition of youth/young athletes

Answer 6

Global terms that include both children and adolescents

Question 7

Definition of growth

Answer 7

Typically viewed as a quantifiable change in body composition, the size of the body as a whole or the size of specific regions of the body

Question 8

Definition of maturation

Answer 8

Highly variable timing and tempo of progressive change within the human body from childhood to adulthood, which, in addition to growth, influences overall physical performance capabilities

Question 9

Information on training youth

Answer 9

Peak Height Velocity and Peak Weight Velocity
- Highly individualized
- More accurate indicator than chronological age
Used to inform windows of trainability

Question 10

Understanding Resistance Training in Children

Answer 10

• Strength increases linearly for both sexes in children
• Adaptation driven by maturation of the CNS (motor unit recruitment/agonist-antagonist synchronization/firing frequencies)
• Detraining occurs rapidly in youth (Consider the importance of year-round resistance training, counteract the trend of sport specialization at a young age)

Question 11

Practical Considerations for Children

Answer 11

Physical Qualities to focus upon:
- Fundamental movement skills
- Strength
- Power
- Speed
- Agility

Sport-specific skills (latter stages)

Question 12

Practical Considerations for Children

Answer 12

Prioritize Fundamental Movement Skills
- Run: Jump: Throw
- Skip: Bound: Land: Hang: Swing: Roll: Crawl

Expect and embrace constant fluctuations in coordination and motor skill development

Do not program for physiological adaptation
- Emphasize technique and movement patterns when introducing loaded traditional resistance training exercise

Be able to adjust on the fly
- Attention span and physical ability may heavily influence this
- Have some structure but be flexible within

Create games and intrinsic challenges

Avoid ‘punitive’ exercises

Select movement and skills that are age appropriate

Question 13

Practical Considerations for Adolescents

Answer 13

Interference from sport specific training and competition
- Total energy availability

Poor habits to support physical development

Sport coaches and parents who view resistance training as less important

Programming for physiological adaptations
- Females ~12 year old / Males ~ 14 year old aligning with PHV

Adolescents experience non-linear adaptations in strength that differ between sexes
- Male experience greater spikes in gain of strength and muscle mass
- Muscle growth seen as key differentiator (increased presence of T, HGH, IGF-1)

Consider sex-related programming differences
- Females could benefit from emphasis on plyometrics, landing mechanics, core/trunk strength, balance and coordination in conjunction with resistance training

Consider the motor learning disruption associated with PHV

Context dependent programming for hypertrophy, strength, and power

Question 14

Adolescent Female and Resistance Training

Answer 14

More linear development of strength in adolescence
- Implications in mixed gender group training

Perceptions of resistance training
- Physical adaptations (hypertrophy) as a detriment
– Education necessary to counteract this

Implications of a lack of RT in adolescent females
– Increase in observable injury risk biomechanics and movement patterns (↓ in ACL injury in 14-18yr old females that engaged in RT (Myer et.al., 2013))