One of our clients asked me this question on completion of her 8 kilo of weight loss. She brought her son to NidSun for counseling today morning. He is 14 years old and a bit overweight, and obviously looking at her own good results she thought of enrolling him to our therapies we gave her some dietary advice regarding him and told her that we cannot give him any kind of therapy in fact we don’t give sessions to anyone before age 16.

Then she asked If He could go with her to the gym for weight training?

Answer to this question is YES and a big NO…and both the answers are absolutely right, here is how?

Number of Overweight and Obese children in our area is on a sharp rise for last 3 years not only Chandigarh but this phenomena is a pan India and across the Globe  now. So I thought of sharing this common yet important question that might be sprouting somewhere in your mind.

Weight training is the only exercise that kids should do under strict supervision, other than that they can do parity much anything.

According to experts:  Most international organizations and sports medicine experts strongly recommend that it’s not a good idea for very young children below 16 years of age to perform resistance exercises with weights Because most of the muscle insertions are close to growth plates in bones and kids bodies are growing rapidly, so  recovery from an injury caused by weight bearing exercises especially around bone’s growth plates, sometimes become impossible. In severe cases bone lengthening can cease because of damage to growth plate.

I strongly discourage parents to send their children to gym if the age is below 14 because trainers at gyms are not trained enough to handle special exercises for kids less than 16.

I do however recommend light resistance exercises and controlled slow movements if a kid wishes to do resistance exercise. Problem with weight training is that it is to be done in a controlled way with special emphasis on proper technique and safety And children dislike being controlled be it a school or gym …LOL .

We at NidSun strongly encourage you the parents to enroll your children into exercises where they can have natural physical expression, is a lot of fun and Sociable and not lonely focused workout like weight training…Cherries on top…weight training is dangerous if done without your supervision even for adults.

Strength training is good for children but you should not confuse strength training with weightlifting or bodybuilding and most of your gym trainers are ex weight lifters and ex bodybuilders…To train children the training mindset or training module has to be absolutely different!!!

If you want your children to do weight training Keep these things in your mind:

• Your child can do many strength training exercises with his or her own body weight or inexpensive resistance tubing like push-ups, pull ups, squatting without weights etc.
•  Free weights and machine weights are other options BUT and this is a Big BUT if your gym has provision of scaled down equipment for children (and in my 10 years of experience in almost all metros in India, I haven’t Seen It anywhere!).
• Keep in mind that if children do weight training without supervision, it can put too much strain on young muscles, tendons and Growth Plate areas (cartilage that haven’t yet turned to bone is growth plates, kids bones lengthen from this area) These Growth plates are especially damaged when proper technique is sacrificed in favor of lifting larger amounts of weight….and any child will inevitably lift heavier looking at other adults unless someone guides them…. And children dislike being controlled as you know!.
• If you want your child to begin strength training sessions, they should begin with 5 to 10 minutes of light aerobic activity, such as walking, jogging in place or jumping rope. This warms the muscles and prepares them for more vigorous activity. One set of around 20 repetitions is all they need and muscle pumping should be avoided at all costs lifting weight till failure is ony for Adults (A). The resistance doesn’t have to come from weights, either. Resistance tubing and body-weight exercises, such as push-ups, are other effective options and the safest for your children.
•  Rather than focusing on the amount of weight your child lifts, stress proper form and technique during each exercise. Your child can gradually increase the resistance or number of repetitions as he or she gets older and by older I mean more than 16 years of age

Adult supervision is an important in weight training; don’t let your child do it alone.

Make sure your child rests at least 1 full day between exercising each specific muscle group. 2 strength training sessions in a week is more than enough.

Moral Of the Story:       For your Children the mantra is Workout Right and make sure the weights are light:)