Our town recreation department recently started offering Crossfit classes—for kids. That was a surprise: I’ve always associated Crossfit—the high-impact, strength-boosting exercise movement that’s swept the nation—with hardcore (and hard-bodied) adults. The idea of kids doing burpees—and not the kind for laughs at the lunch table—seemed a little…much?
At the same time, I knew that strong muscles can help protect against many sports-related injuries. Also, gym-related fitness is a great alternative for kids who aren’t drawn to traditional competitive sports. The question: what can kids who are interested in getting stronger do that can help—and not hurt—growing bodies? So I checked into the research, spoke with my husband (a pediatric orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine) and consulted with physical education expert Curt Hinson, Ph.D., a Happy Healthy Kids advisory board member. Here are some takeaways:
1. Strength training can be really good for children and teens… Studies have demonstrated that well-supervised programs, especially ones performed twice a week for at least 8 weeks, can safely and measurably increase kids’ strength, and may also help decrease the risk of certain injuries. This is important to note as youth sport competitions continue to grow more intense and competitive, leading to the type of injuries—like A.C.L. tears—that used to only plague adults.
2. …But it’s imperative that kids do the right kind of strength training. The safest and best type of weight training regimen for kids should involve light weights, and high repetitions. Make sure kids are not doing any type of explosive, powerlifting moves, whether with weights or medicine balls or kettle bells or (as might be the case in our house) unwilling younger siblings. Lifting super-heavy objects can throw a skeletally immature child off balance, and overstress their joints.
Even better for kids are resistance-based moves that don’t involve any weights. So, certain Crossfit staples, like squats, mountain climbers, and, yes, burpees can be safe and beneficial for kids, if done with controlled, supervised movements. Most strength training injuries occur on home equipment, with unsafe behavior and in unsupervised settings. Make sure you or another trusted adult is monitoring your child when he or she is working out.
3. Hold off on encouraging your child to try any strength-training program until they are 8 years old. Because it’s around this time that children achieve adult-level balancing skills, which are needed to do strength-training moves safely and effectively, experts recommend parents hold off on letting their children embark on any muscle-building programs until this age.
4. Make sure you put the benefits of strength training in perspective for kids. Remind kids that muscle isn’t the magic bullet to sports success (or popularity or attractiveness, for that matter.) It’s important that kids know the risks of pushing their bodies too hard, as well as the dangers of supplements and pills that purport to make them bigger or more “cut.”
5. Check out the IronKids app if your child shows interest in getting stronger. The AAP has created a great, $3.99 app called IronKids, which features lots of safety tips as well as a 45-minute, kid-friendly “IronStrength” workout. Do it together with your kids—it’s a great way for you to keep tabs on their progress and fit a workout in at the same time.
