Is it safe for young athletes to lift weights? YES … when it is properly performed. Should any young athlete do a MAX effort lift? Absolutely not! But with light weights, they can safely develop strength and core stability, and create a more efficient nervous system.
With expert instruction and an emphasis on proper form, motor patterns, and creating body awareness, a young athlete can and will become stronger by lifting light weights.
If your 10-year-old can lift a gallon of milk, then he can certainly lift an 8-pound dumbbell. When your 12-year-old daughter jumps off the swings or drops from the monkey bars, she is putting an immense amount of force on her knees, ankles, and back … far greater than any goblet squat with a 10-pound medicine ball would. In football, we put our kids in pads and let them run full speed into each other at forces up to 5 times their bodyweight, which is nowhere near what is done safely with equipment in the gym.
At Twist, we teach proper form and progress athletes slowly so that they learn the proper way to move and lift. We also know that ‘heavy’ and ‘light’ are relative and not absolute. It is ‘light’ if a youth athlete can perform 15 reps, no matter what the weight is. If James can do 15 reps with 10 pounds, then it is light for him. It doesn’t matter that it is 10 pounds. Our job is to identify when a youth athlete needs to progress or regress in order to establish the solid foundation required to build upon. At Twist, we build bodies that work so that they are ready for whatever life or sport throws at them.
Move – Lift – Learn – Be Ready!
Twist Sport Conditioning Centre
31-1828 Blue Heron Dr., London
519-914-2682
info@twistlondongym.com
www.twistlondongym.com
Story submitted by Twist London Gym
