Is it dangerous for youth athletes to lift weights?

A common misconception is that strength and conditioning is too dangerous for some youth athletes; however, quite the opposite is true. A properly designed strength and conditioning program can actually decrease the potential for injury in youth athletes.

 

There will always be injury risks with any type of activity, but lifting weights is no more risky than the sports youth athletes participate in. We must not ignore the obvious benefits of strength training for youth athletes, primarily increasing strength. Consider the research from the NSCA's Performance Training Journal 

Remember this! 

• Youth athletes are more likely to injure themselves with home exercise equipment than with a structured program supervised by a certified coach.

• Youth athletes can increase strength by up to 30% with the intervention of an 8- to 20-week program.

• Many youth athletes are not prepared physically to meet the demands of their sport due to inadequate training and insufficient muscular strength and cardiovascular conditioning.

• One third of youth athletes that participate in organized sports require medical attention for a sports-related injury.

• The potential for sports-related injuries and for youth athletes to drop out of sports could be decreased by a properly designed strength and conditioning program.

• Not having a properly designed strength and conditioning program may be a factor in youth athletes' feeling that they are not good at the sport, therefore they are more likely to drop out of sports altogether.

*Source: www.NSCA.com

--
Tauheed "James" F. Mitchell, NSCA-CPT

www.jfmfit.blogger.com

--
Tauheed "James" F. Mitchell, NSCA-CPT

www.jfmfit.blogger.com