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

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Tauheed "James" F. Mitchell, NSCA-CPT

www.jfmfit.blogger.com

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

www.jfmfit.blogger.com

Thinking about short-cutting your cardio program? 10 reasons not too!

1) Cardio increases HDL count! Which reduces the harmful LDL's floating around in your body.

2) Cardio reduces your risk factor for CAD's(cardio vascular disease).

3) Cardio improves neuromuscular response and function.

4) Cardio increases insulin sensitivity.

5) Cardio improves endocrine system hormone production.

6) Cardio has positive psychological effects.

7) Cardio lowers resting heart rate.

8) Cardio improves aerobic muscle function

9) Cardio improves increases the amount of oxygen available for your muscles to uptake

10) Cardio improves cardiac output
Tauheed "James" F. Mitchell, NSCA-CPT

Motivational tip for meeting your fitness goals

Every goal in your fitness program needs to be a process goal. Meaning you need to focus on the process(performance), which you can control, and not the outcome which you have very little control over.

Focus on performing every exercise with full range of motion and proper technique.

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

Strech like a rubber band!

There are four different types of streaching techniques:

• Static
• Dynamic
• Ballistic
• PNF(proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation)

The most effective way to increace range of motion in your joints, and to prevent injuries, is to combine a mixture of static with dynamic streaching techniques, after your warm up activity, so that your muscles are plyable and relaxed.

Breath slowly and controllably, so that the streach reflex in your muscle don't activate causing your muscles to contract, therefore not achieving a full range of motion.   

Exercise increases insulin sensitivity and glucose utilization, thus lowering blood glucose levels!

Fat burning tips!(High energy edition)

Foods that promote higher energy levels:

Vitamins That Enhance Energy:

Thiamin (Vitamin B1) is essential for helping the body convert carbohydrates into energy. Foods that are good sources of thiamin are beans and peas, whole grains, brewer's yeast, and sunflower seeds.

Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) and Niacin also help us use the energy obtained from our food more effectively. Sources of Riboflavin include milk, yogurt, mushrooms, and whole grains. Niacin food sources are mushrooms, whole grains, tuna, salmon, chicken, and beef.

Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) assists in protein metabolism. Foods high in Pyridoxine include spinach, bananas, soybeans, sunflower seeds, tuna and beef.

Minerals That Enhance Energy:

Phosphorus: Dairy products, poultry, fish, eggs, whole grains, nuts, seeds

Zinc: Poultry, fish, eggs, whole grains

Iodine: Salt-water fish, dairy products

Copper: Seafood, nuts, seeds

Chromium:  Egg yolks, whole grain

*Drink plenty of water! 8 - 10 glasses of water!

Fat burning tips!

A Quick 20 recipe: Fisherman's salmon with rice an tomatoes(Recipe courtesy of Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH).

Vitamins and Minerals gained: An excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, calcium, potassium and a good source of magnesium and fiber.

2 7-oz. cans salmon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup cooked whole corn kernels, chilled
4 large tomatoes, halved and seeded

Put the salmon into a large bowl and flake it with a fork. Make dressing by whisking together the oil, vinegar, and mustard until well blended. Stir in parsley. Add the rice, corn and dressing to the salmon and toss until well-mixed. Place the tomato halves on a platter and fill with the salmon mixture.