Is Strength Training just for Adults?

Happy Seahawk Saturday!

I'm just finishing up at work and getting ready to head over to the gym for some cardio and legs. This morning we had our first week back of The League, a fitness program for kids to workout and learn about fitness and nutrition. Today was Mighty Muscles focusing on things like the importance of warming up and cooling down, and safe form on main moves like squats, lunges, push ups and abdominal exercises. It was fun! I think it's so important for kids to start learning about exercise early!

What age did you start working out and beginning to get interested in fitness? I started lifting at about 14-15 years old. I learned from my brother and through a weight training class I took in high school. I was very lucky to be taught the right things from the beginning. A lot of kids learn from their parents or friends and are never really introduced to proper technique and form and end up injured later on. We are learning through current research that it is okay for kids to lift and train outside of practice for a particular sport, but it's so important that we have good resources to teach them the right things.

Here's some of what we know now:

• Kids will not stunt their growth by lifting weights.
• They should do light weight, high reps and focus on multi-joint movements rather than moves that isolate one muscle group. 
• Form is the single most important factor.
• Goals for strength training for children should be focused on increasing flexibility, balance, coordination and agility, before increasing muscular strength.
• When considering the proper starting age, the number isn't as important as maturity and their level of preparedness to exercise.
• Strength training and exercise can be a great tool for children to become better athletes, as well as decrease their risk for obesity and other diseases.
• Kids should not lift or train alone. An adult with an educational background in exercise should always be there to guide them through workouts and offer assistance with form.  Just because you have lifted your whole life or read the last years worth of Fitness magazine from cover to cover, does not make you educated enough to teach other people, specifically, special populations, how to exercise. 

Question of the Morning:
What are your thoughts on children and strength training? What age did you start lifting?