PTI Sports Specific Conditioning - Youth
Sports conditioning can be especially helpful for the youth population. For young people more attention needs to be given to core strength and muscular balance, something there isn't always time to fully address during practice on youth sports teams. Here at PTI, we understand the importance of building a base of strength so that your child can reach their athletic potential with the lest chance of injuries. We have many years of experience working with kids of all ages, all different sporting events, and ability levels.
Here's what the American College of Sports Medicine has to say about youth and adolescent training programs:
"Properly designed and competently supervised youth strength training programs may not only increase the muscular strength of children and adolescents, but may also enhance motor fitness skills (e.g., sprinting and jumping) and sports performance. Preliminary evidence suggests that youth strength training may also decrease the incidence of some sports injuries by increasing the strength of tendons, ligaments and bone."
Frequently Asked Questions About Youth and Adolescents Sports Conditioning
How old should my child be before starting a strength training program? - Studies have shown that properly supervised exercise programs are safe, and beneficial, for any child old enough to follow directions. At PTI we've had clients as young as 7, but appropriate training age varies with each individual child.
Will my child or teen get bigger muscles from training at PTI? - It depends on the age. Before puberty kids lack the necessary hormones to increase the actual size of their muscles, so while a prepubescent child will gain strenght and muscular endurance they won't look like miniature body builders. Once in their teens, kids will start to see actual muscular growth, but this will vary depending on many factors such as age, gender, and their natural propensity towards gaining muscle. Their athletic goals will also affect how we train them and thus muscular growth; for example, the programing for a 17 year old football player will obviously focus on increasing muscular size while the program for a 17 year old distance runner would focus on muscular endurance.
My son is a high jumper, can we come to you for a few weeks before season starts so they can learn better technique? - We can definitely help with sports specific technique for certain athletic events, including any track and field event. But we will not simply teach technique to a child or teen without first making sure they have a proper base of strength and movement patterns to build upon. This process is different for everyone but will most likely take a good deal longer than two weeks. As you can tell from the sports pyramid, we start with building a foundation of strength, and from there we start working on functional movements specifically related to your child's sport. Once they can demonstrate competency with functional movement patterns then we can start working with them on technique.
My kid already has an injury, is it still safe for them to start a personal training program? - Yes! In fact, if your child has already experienced an injury it's even more important to find a qualified professional who can help them safely exercise even while injured. With the approval of your child's doctor or physical therapist, we can create a program that will help them gain overall strength while not stressing the injured area, once appropriate, start slowly progressing load back to the injury site to regain full strength and motion. Especially if the injury was from over-use rather than impact, core strength and muscular imbalances need to be addressed to help prevent further injuries.
Can working with you help my child lose weight? - The topic of weight loss for children is a complex one that involves many factors, like nutrition and exercise. However, strength training and structured exercise programs have been shown to help kids with weight control by burning calories and boosting their metabolism. Whether you child is interested in sports or not, starting a fitness program at a young age can assist in establishing life long exercise habits and help them develop a healthy relationship with their body.
