Come Hang Out With This Guy A Little Bit This Summer!!Crossfit Kids!!!!
Crossfit Park City is starting a Crossfit Kids and Teens program…..wooohoooo!!
Throughout the next couple of months in the newsletter and posts on the Crossfit Kids Blog, I will be talking a little more in-depth about the program and how it can benefit kids/teens of all ages and ability levels. I will also be talking about some of the myths that are out there about kids and teens participating in exercise programs.
This months: Myth # 1: “It is not safe for kids to lift weights!!”
First, I should point out that Crossfit is about more than lifting weights and that it is about incorporating all aspects of fitness into a comprehensive program (coordination, balance, speed, endurance, strength, etc). Realistically, kids will spend more time developing other skills rather than pure weight lifting. However, when I start talking about a fitness program for kids, one of the common responses is: “it is not safe for kids to lift weights” or “it will hurt their growth plates”. Obviously parents don’t want to hurt their kids, but is it true that kids who lift weights have a higher rate of growth plate injuries compared to the rest of the population? I could go into a bunch of scientific mumbo-jumbo and give some history on how this all came about, but I don’t feel like boring you into a coma. So I’ll keep this short and sweet.
The short answer is “no, it’s not unsafe for kids to lift weights”. This is especially true when done under supervision by a specialist and given the proper instruction. Obviously, I’m not going to have a 5 -year old stud doing heavy barbell back squats. Younger kids will start learning movement technique with extremely light or no weight and the focus will be on the perfection of technique and skill development, which can lead to a ton of benefits, as Jeff Martin (founder of Crossfit Kids) would say “the magic of Crossfit is in the movements themselves”. As a child progresses in experience and age so will weight and complexity of skills being developed. What’s interesting is that most injuries in kids happen through recreational or teams sports such as football, soccer, mountain biking, skiing, etc and no one really gives a thought as to these sports being overly dangerous. One study showed this: the injury rate for weight training is .0012 injuries per 100 participant hours, now compare this to soccer which showed an injury rate of 6.2 injuries per 100 participant hours. There are other studies out there that will also show that lifting weights is a relatively safe and injury-free fee activity when properly supervised. Furthermore, there are no real studies to show that proper weight training for kids is unsafe. What we are going to find out is that there are actually a lot of benefits for kids lifting weights and that’s what I will talk about in the newsletter and through this blog.
Keep checking the website for more info and updates on the kids program!!
Eric
Crossfit Park City is starting a Crossfit Kids and Teens program…..wooohoooo!!
Throughout the next couple of months in the newsletter and posts on the Crossfit Kids Blog, I will be talking a little more in-depth about the program and how it can benefit kids/teens of all ages and ability levels. I will also be talking about some of the myths that are out there about kids and teens participating in exercise programs.
This months: Myth # 1: “It is not safe for kids to lift weights!!”
First, I should point out that Crossfit is about more than lifting weights and that it is about incorporating all aspects of fitness into a comprehensive program (coordination, balance, speed, endurance, strength, etc). Realistically, kids will spend more time developing other skills rather than pure weight lifting. However, when I start talking about a fitness program for kids, one of the common responses is: “it is not safe for kids to lift weights” or “it will hurt their growth plates”. Obviously parents don’t want to hurt their kids, but is it true that kids who lift weights have a higher rate of growth plate injuries compared to the rest of the population? I could go into a bunch of scientific mumbo-jumbo and give some history on how this all came about, but I don’t feel like boring you into a coma. So I’ll keep this short and sweet.
The short answer is “no, it’s not unsafe for kids to lift weights”. This is especially true when done under supervision by a specialist and given the proper instruction. Obviously, I’m not going to have a 5 -year old stud doing heavy barbell back squats. Younger kids will start learning movement technique with extremely light or no weight and the focus will be on the perfection of technique and skill development, which can lead to a ton of benefits, as Jeff Martin (founder of Crossfit Kids) would say “the magic of Crossfit is in the movements themselves”. As a child progresses in experience and age so will weight and complexity of skills being developed. What’s interesting is that most injuries in kids happen through recreational or teams sports such as football, soccer, mountain biking, skiing, etc and no one really gives a thought as to these sports being overly dangerous. One study showed this: the injury rate for weight training is .0012 injuries per 100 participant hours, now compare this to soccer which showed an injury rate of 6.2 injuries per 100 participant hours. There are other studies out there that will also show that lifting weights is a relatively safe and injury-free fee activity when properly supervised. Furthermore, there are no real studies to show that proper weight training for kids is unsafe. What we are going to find out is that there are actually a lot of benefits for kids lifting weights and that’s what I will talk about in the newsletter and through this blog.
Keep checking the website for more info and updates on the kids program!!
Eric
6 comments:
Great site Eric, awesome info!
Thanks Shahan
If we had kids, they'd be there!
Mr. O rocks!
Here is the American Acadamy of Pediatrics statement on strength training in children and adolescents. I assume those of you running the kids program are familiar with this, but it's good information for parents interested in enrolling their children.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/121/4/835
http://pediatrics.aappublications. org/cgi/content/full/121/4/835
The whole link didn't show the first time. Hopefully this one works.
Thanks for posting the link. It's a good article.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has come a long way since 1983 with their original position statement, which was mostly junk, as we now know.
There are a couple of small things that I don't agree with in the position statement in the above link, but I now agree with most of what they have to say....basically that when properly supervised and instructed a fitness program including strength training can be appropriate for nearly everybody (without serious medical problems/restrictions) at any age.
They are finally catching up with what Anecdotal evidence has been showing for a long time....haha
Thanks again for posting the link.
Eric
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