I agree, except for one detail: who recommends that children jump off the
roof? while children may do so, most adults would be militantly against
that too.
NK
At 05:56 AM 3/26/01 -0500, you wrote:
>On 26/03/2001, Simon O'Connor<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
><< If you look in the book "Designing Resistance Training Programmes" by
>Fleck and Kraemer (published by Human Kinetics) there is a section about
>resistance training for children. It talks about the use of heavy weights and
>the stress placed on the epiphyseal plates during 1RM (which is definitely
>not advised for children or adolescents). I'll try to find other references
>for you as soon as I can. >>
>
>***This is typical physical training mythology. It has never been shown
>scientifically or clinically that the periodic, non chronic imposition of
>large forces by weight training on the growing body causes damage to the
>epiphysial plates, though excessive impulsive loading over a prolonged period
>presumably may have this effect. It is extremely misleading to focus on the
>alleged risks of weight training on children when biomechanical research
>shows that simple daily activities such as running, jumping, striking or
>catching can impose far greater forces on the musculoskeletal system than
>very heavy weight training.
>
>As a single example, compare the effects of running with squatting. Suppose
>that one child runs a few hundred metres a day in some or other sporting or
>recreational activities. This can easily involve several thousand foot
>strikes in which the reaction force imposed on the body can easily exceed 4
>times bodyweight with every stride. Now let another child do a typical
>average weight training session with 3-5 sets of squats (say, with 10 reps,
>8, 6 and 4 reps), with bodyweight or more for the last set. That bodyweight
>is divided between the two legs, so that the loading per leg is bodyweight or
>a little more, while the spine is subjected to the full load on the bar.
>Normally, this exercise will be done no more than twice a week, while the
>running child will do so every day.
>
>It does not require much scientific knowledge or computational genius to see
>that the cumulative loading imposed by simple running activities on the lower
>extremities and the spine is far greater than the cumulative load of two or
>three times a week weight training. Does this now mean that we are justified
>in recommending that children not be allowed to run, jump, throw or catch
>because biomechanical research definitely shows that such activities can
>produce very large forces on many parts of the growing body?
>
>Oh - I did not mention that the forces experienced by any youngster jumping
>off a wall or roof (and many kids actually do this) can exceed eight times
>bodyweight. There isn't a human being on this planet who can manage a 1RM (1
>rep maximum) which imposes forces that large on the body, yet many parents
>and teachers militate against weights for children! Talk about selective
>application of science and sports medicine!
>
>Dr Mel C Siff
>Denver, USA
>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/
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