Exercise Programs
For Children - Tips About Kids And Exercise
By Donovan Baldwin
Actually, if kids are allowed
to play actively, they will probably get a large amount of the exercise
kids need without any planning or much guidance. Kids
exercise naturally. It's what they do when they get out from
in front of the TV, the computer, or the video game, or at least they
used to.
There was a time when the topic of exercise programs for children would
not even have been discussed. Back in those days, play was an
active thing, normally done outside, except on rainy days.
It's not the same way today, and sometimes we have to step in and make
sure that our kids are getting the exercise they need, not only for
present physical, mental, and emotional development, but because what
their bodies do now will be reflected in their adult life.
In America, over 60 per cent of the adult population is overweight, and
some of this can be traced to childhoods spent sitting glued to a TV
screen. Inactive children become inactive adults.
Exercise programs for children would normally be something you might
want to consider for teens, and not for younger children.
However, if you do find you have a child of 6 to 8 years old that wants
to start exercising, maybe wanting to lift weights, you could easily
find yourself wondering what you should do. Some think it is
perfectly fine for children to exercise, while there are others who
think differently.
Yes, while it is beneficial for your child to partake in exercise or
perhaps even a weight training regimen, there are a few things that you
should keep in mind if things take this turn.
Kids Are
Still Just Kids And Exercise Programs For Children Should Reflect This
No matter how you slice it or dice it, children are not minature
adults! Therefore you cannot use the same exercise and
training methods with growing children that you can use with adults, as
children are different from adults emotionally, anatomically, and
physiologically, and exercise programs for children should reflect this.
Here are a few things to consider when thinking about exercise programs
for children.
Bones
All children have immature skeletons. Their bones will not
mature until they get to be 14 - 22 years of age. With girls
in particular, exercise during childhood can have very critical effects
on bone health that can last for their entire lives. If done
properly, these can be good effects, but allowing any child, boy or
girl, to try to duplicate the actions of adult athletes can result a
negative outcome. Some of these negative effects might not
even show up for years. This should be considered when
planning exercise programs for children.
My mother, age 90, just learned that some pain she has been
experiencing is the result of an injury she sustained as a
child. In my teens, I suffered an injury to my hip, and these
days (age 63) it lets me know that maybe I should not have been riding
in that jeep that day back in 1960. Which leads us to the
topic of...
Injury
In addition to the types of injuries alluded to in the previous
paragraph, children are often times vulnerable to growth related
overuse injuries such as Osgood schlatter disease. Children
also commonly have immature temperature regulation systems due to their
having a large surface area compared to their muscle mass which will
cause them to be more susceptible to injury when they aren't properly
warmed up.
Exercise programs for children should take such ideas into account.
Hydration
And Other Things
Children don't normally sweat as much as adults do. This can
make them more susceptible to heat exhaustion as well as heat
stroke. Make sure they are getting plenty of fluids before,
during, and after exercise.
Due to a relatively low muscle mass and immature hormone system, it it
can be harder for them to develop strength and speed than for an
adult.
Their breathing and heart response during exercise are also different
from an adult's. This will have an impact on capacity for
exercise.
Exercise
Programs For Children Should Be Designed For Children, Not Small Adults
On the good side, young boys and girls can drastically improve strength
with weight training. However, unlike adults, neurological
factors instead of muscle growth factors are mostly responsible.
When you consider programs for children, first and foremost you should
obtain a medical clearance.
After that, the first approach to designing an exercise program for
children is to establish a repetition range of 8 - 12 and keep the work
load appropriate for the range. In other words, start easy, advance
slowly. Kids should never be trying to exert for maximum load.
You should always ensure that workouts, particularly resistance
training workouts, are spread out enough to have at least 1 - 2 full
days of rest between workouts. The main focus when working out should
be on the form of the exercise being performed, not on the amount of
weight being lifted.
Before weight training, as before any exercise, warm up and stretching
should be done. Start your children with light loads and low
repetitions, and then make incremental adjustments
accordingly.
Resistance exercise programs for children, i.e. weight lifting, should
contain no more than 3 non consecutive exercise sessions to be done in
a week. You should also see to it that they drink plenty of
water before, during, and after exercise.
You might want to consider getting some sort of all-in-one
exercise machines as you can help your child set it, and they
will not be as likely to injure themselves as they might be if using
free weights.
You might want to use it too! The value of a good example
cannot be ignored. If exercise programs for children are
good, so are exercise programs for adults!
As mentioned earlier, getting enough water is very important with exercise, as
it is often times very easy to get dehydrated - especially for children.
The American Heart Association has some good information about this
subject at their website. Click
here to go to the American Heart Association website
(opens new window).
Exercise programs for children are important, but it is important that
parents exercise good judgement and patience.
While I do not normally recommend diets themselves, healthy eating is
important to any health, fitness, or weight loss program. Click Here
to learn more about Diet To Go
meals.
P. S. If you want to learn more about why Diets Don't Work,
please click here.
If you want to learn how to burn fat, a great book to read is Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom
Venuto
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