Children’s Fitness

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, one of the top fitness trends of next year will be for trainers to work with children under the age of 14. There are many reasons for this: childhood obesity, sports training, etc… This trend coincides with a common question parents ask me regarding youth athletics and training in specific:

At what age should children begin lifting weights and working out?

Before the age of 13, children’s bodies are still developing, and therefore, heavy strength training is generally not a good idea. Additionally, a pre-adolescentchild is still growing at a rapid pace to get ready for their teenage and adult figure. It is unnecessary to place undue strain on this natural occurrence as well.

However, I do believe that a child who is resistant to all other forms of exercise but displays a willingness to “hit the gym” can be introduced to a strength program slowly butonly with professional guidance. There also may be some elite level athletes at a young age where some light strength work may be beneficial. However, sessions should be brief, no longer than 30 minutes. Safety is always first and foremost. And never have a child lift to fatigue, or anywhere near it. It is safer to fatigue with non-weight bearing exercises such as lunges or push ups. These sessions should be more about learning form, technique, dexterity, and confidence than about sculpting musculature.

On top of this, I firmly believe in cross training for everyone, of any age! I am firmly against anyone, ESPECIALLY children, spending 5-6 days per week focusing on a single sport or activity. This leads to burnout, boredom, overuse injuries, and distaste for sports. While it may become necessary for some top end athletes at a certain age to concentrate on their sport of choice, it should never become all consuming. Research proves that cross-training, or in kids’ terms, playing other sports (even recreationally) is much more beneficial than focusing on one talent alone.

To put this in perspective, take a 12 year old pitcher. If all he/she does year round is pitch, certain muscles will be put through the constant strain of throw a baseball. Others that can round out an athlete’s body will be completely ignored. So while some muscles are being unduly strained, some are being ignored that may actually help a pitcher. If this same pitcher plays soccer in the off-season, his/hers legs will develop at a faster rate (which is a huge benefit for a pitcher) while the rotator cuff and elbow get a needed break. Best of all, the athlete’s mind gets a break from baseball!

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• Tip of the Month

  March 2010

  What is whole grain and what kinds can you buy

                             
  “Whole grain” means the grain still has all three of its original elements: the outer shell or bran, which contains fiber and B vitamins; the germ, which contains phytochemicals and B vitamins; and the endosperm (what a name), which contains carbohydrates and protein. The key is that they’re “whole” and not “refined,” by stripping away the bran and germ, which leaves you eating only the endosperm. These whole grains are also healthy for you because they’re absorbed more slowly than enriched or bleached flour and thus raise glucose and insulin levels less — keeping you fuller longer and slowing your digestion. Many refined products are enriched with the nutrients that are stripped out.  While most studies support that these nutrients are just as good, doesn’t it make sense to eat the natural version if you can?
   Made with: It may have a drop of whole grains, but unless it’s made entirely with them, you won’t reap all the potential benefits.
   100 percent wheat: This means it could have some or a lot or no “whole” wheat.
   Multigrain: This tells you nothing about whether the grains are whole or refined. Even if you’re getting 38 grains, that isn’t much good if they are all refined.
   Whole grain: If the label doesn’t say “100 percent whole grain,” it may have many blends. Bad words to see: enriched, bleached, unbleached, semolina, durum, and rice flour.
   Blends: “Whole-grain blend” means it usually doesn’t have much whole grain at all.
    Good source: This means it has 8 grams of whole grains per serving or as little as 13.5 percent. Don’t confuse whole grain with fiber; 8 grams of whole grain may have less than 1 gram of fiber.
  Source: ABC News- 1/9/07

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• Recipe of the Month

  March 2010

  The Difference between Simple Carbs (simple sugar) and Complex Carbs

  Carbohydrates are one of three macronutrients that provide calories in our diets. The other two are protein and fat. Carbohydrates provide most of the energy needed in our daily lives, both for normal body functions such as heartbeat, breathing and digestion and for exercise such as biking, walking and running up the stairs.
  Carbohydrates are considered simple or complex based upon their chemical structure. Both types contain four calories per gram, and both are digested into a blood sugar called glucose, which can then be used to fuel our bodies for work or exercise.
  Somehow, simple carbohydrates have become known as the “bad” carbohydrates, while complex carbohydrates seem to be designated as the “good” carbohydrates. But there is no real scientific or nutritional justification for these descriptions.
  • Simple carbohydrates are digested quickly. Many simple carbohydrates contain refined sugars and few essential vitamins and minerals. Examples include fruits, fruit juice, milk, yogurt, honey, molasses, maple syrup and sugar.
  • Complex carbohydrates take longer to digest and are usually packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals. Examples are vegetables, breads, cereals, legumes and pasta.
  Most experts recommend that 50-60 percent of the total calories in our diet come from carbohydrates. The bulk of the carbohydrate choices should be complex carbs and most of the simple carbohydrate choices should come from fruits and milk or yogurt, which also contain vitamins and minerals.
  Source: Lynn Grieger, RD, CD, CDE