What Does Strength Training Look Like For Kids & Teenagers?

In our latest blogs, we have discussed the safety and the effectiveness of strength training when it comes to kids, teenagers, and youth athletes! Many parents and coaches do not know what strength training would look like for these populations. When people think about strength training they often think of adults lifting heavy weights in front of a mirror in a weight room! This may be one form of strength training but it’s definitely not the only one and likely will not be the best for your youth athlete! Here, we will show you what strength training looks like in the younger population!

First and foremost, proper strength training for youth athletes should always be done in a supervised setting by a certified professional. Although injuries are not common for kids or teenagers during strength training, most injuries that are reported in the research occur in settings where the athletes are not properly supervised and are often using inappropriate weight, poor technique, or goofing around in the weight room. To learn more about how to make sure your child is performing strength training safely, click here!

Individualized For Your Specific Needs & Goals

Strength training should also look different for each athlete depending on their body type, their biomechanics, the sport and position they play, and what their goals are! For example, a 6’2” baseball pitcher who wants to improve his throwing velocity would have a different training program than a 5’5” soccer forward who wants to improve her agility and sprint speed.

Many factors should be considered when performing a training program. This is again why it is important to work with an experienced professional who knows the demands of your sports and can help you work towards your goals.

Age and skeletal maturity matter a lot as well. For example, an 8 year-old basketball player would be doing a completely different program than a 17 year-old basketball player. When the athlete is younger, building a foundation of developing good movement patterns and range of motion are prioritized. As the athletes start to develop those qualities, we start to focus more on strength and power as they get older.

What Do Our Training Programs Look Like?

At our facility, we use many different exercises to help athletes develop the qualities that are best for their sport, their goals, and to help prevent injuries. Below are some tools we use in our facility to improve athletic performance in youth athletes.

We use the agility ladder and cones to help develop agility, quickness, acceleration, deceleration, and tendon strength. We use plyometric exercises to help develop explosiveness and power. We use weights and resistance bands to develop muscle, bone, ligament, and tendon strength; power; force development; and prevent against injury. We use medicine balls to develop core strength and total body power and explosiveness. We use body weight exercises to improve range of motion, prevent against injuries and develop core strength.

Check out our recent episode of the St. Johns Health Podcast discussing Youth Strength Training!

Exercise Program Writing

Training does not have to happen in the weight room. There are many ways to improve performance at home, at the park, or anywhere you have space! At St. Johns Chiropractic & Performance, we offer exercise program writing to help you get the most of your training wherever you prefer to train!

After we find out what your goals are and evaluate your mobility and strength, we can write an exercise program designed to help you achieve your athletic goals! The only thing you have to do is carry out the program in the location of your convenience! Click here to get in touch with us about this program!

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn

Related Posts