Anyone who has ever seen a group of children at play during recess, or even just at a park or somebody’s backyard, knows that children are a very active group of people. Kids will play any kind of sport involving a ball, from football to basketball to soccer to baseball, sometimes all in an afternoon. They are young and have a seemingly endless source of energy, so it is not difficult at all to see why they would love to play semi-organized sports.

However, not all children will mature equally. Some kids grow faster than others, some are just bigger than others, and some are destined to never have a shot at playing center in the National Basketball Association. As these differences become apparent by the time that children start to enter adolescence, so, too, do the differences in their athletic abilities. Bigger kids will have an advantage in more physical sports, like football and rugby, taller kids have an advantage in basketball, and kids who can run faster have an advantage in, well, running. Until everyone catches up to each other at some point late in adolescence, these differences often make for rather lopsided athletic contests.

One of the ways to negate an opponent’s natural physical advantages in a sport is to lift weights: in a sense, directed bodybuilding. The proper weightlifting regimen can give someone an edge over an opponent who does not lift weights. There are all kinds of computer programs that are designed to be fed information about a particular athlete and then spit back out an optimized weightlifting program for him or her. However, there is no solid agreement between the medical community and the sports world as to when children should be allowed to begin weight training.

Certainly, kids are already getting plenty of other types of exercise, but a few recent studies have suggested that children who begin lifting weights at too young of an age will have their growth stunted. There is no concrete evidence suggesting this, but short people are often at a disadvantage in many sports, such as football and basketball, and that is enough for some parents to keep their kids away from weight training until they have are already in high school or older. By this time, any competitive advantage that can be gained from lifting weights has likely already been squandered.

Some physicians believe that weight training for children is okay, provided that the child is taught proper lifting techniques. There are all sorts of ways to hurt oneself while lifting, and a ligament tear or a fracture of some vital bone can be a particularly devastating injury for a child. The best way to emphasize proper techniques while lifting weights is to have a well-trained adult exercise with that child and focus on what the child is doing and whether or not they are doing it correctly. Also, it is a generally accepted practice to keep the amount of weight that a child lifts very low until that child has demonstrated that he or she has mastered the technique required.

Lifting weights is a great way for people of any age to stay in shape and gain a competitive edge in athletics, but children must take caution so that they do not cause themselves serious injury. Even if a child does not go on to play professional sports, weight training is a great way for kids to get introduced to a lifetime of exercise, and may provide a gateway into such recreational activities as bodybuilding or power lifting.

Author Bio: I write for TIR Massage Stone about hot stone massage and massage stone therapy including hot stone therapy.

Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: kids,types of exercise,lifting weights,proper lifting techniques