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

  June 2010

  Abdominal Workouts: Frequency, Intensity, and Duration

  Over the past 15 years, there has been countless advice on how to “properly” train your abdominals, or core.  There isn’t a fitness magazine out there that doesn’t publish a different abdominal workout each and every issue.  Opinions and research may change over time, but there are a few things you should look at before you alter your workout with each Fitness Magazine you read!
  First of all, it is important to know what your overall fitness and health goal is before designing a strength program for any body part, especially the mid-section.  For overall fitness, it is smartest to treat your abdominal muscles as you would any other muscle group.  The tried and true guidelines for most exercise programs is to work specific muscles to fatigue within a 30-60 second set time limit (intensity and duration,) while giving the worked muscle group at least 24-48 hours of rest (frequency) before working it again.  The amount of sets you do in a given workout (frequency again) can vary from as little as 4 sets to up to 12 for the average workout.  The science behind these theories is sound.  While exercising, pushing your body significantly past the 60 second mark without fatigue generally incorporates aerobic energy, thereby not stressing the muscles most efficiently.  And rest is necessary so that your body can properly rebuild the muscle fibers that you have broken down.  Additionally, you want to be at 100% energy levels for your next workout!

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• Recipe of the Month

  June 2010

  Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

  This healthy update of a traditionally rich ham-and-cheese breakfast strata is made lighter primarily by losing a few egg yolks and using nonfat milk. Gruyère cheese has a delicious, nutty aroma and flavor, which means that with the relatively small amount in this recipe you still get a big impact. To finish the makeover use nutritious, fiber-rich, whole-grain bread instead of white. The results: plenty of flavor, half the calories and one-third the fat of the original.

  4 large eggs
  4 large egg whites
  1 cup nonfat milk
  2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
  1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  5 cups chopped spinach, wilted (see Tip)
  4 cups whole-grain bread, crusts removed if desired, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1/2 pound, 4-6 slices)
  1 cup diced ham steak, (5 ounces)
  1/2 cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers
  3/4 cup shredded Gruyère, or Swiss cheese
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