Recommendations for Programme Prescription
This week’s instalment is aimed at providing you with a better understanding of HOW to integrate resistance training into a youth athletes training programme. It is not only enough to know the benefits but also how to safely implement it, considering all the variables that go along with programme prescription.
The prescription of a strength and conditioning programme integrating some form of resistance training depends on a variety of different factors. As spoken about in the previous article, youth athletes should only begin resistance training when they are adequately able to follow instructions and are correctly supervised by an educated and experienced practitioner. The notion that children are too young is farfetched and unfortunately is negatively affecting the development of the majority of them.
The prescription of a strength and conditioning programme integrating some form of resistance training depends on a variety of different factors. As spoken about in the previous article, youth athletes should only begin resistance training when they are adequately able to follow instructions and are correctly supervised by an educated and experienced practitioner. The notion that children are too young is farfetched and unfortunately is negatively affecting the development of the majority of them.
Age can be divided into two sub-categories, chronological age and biological age, and is a big dictator in programme prescription. Chronological age is their actual age, while biological age incorporates all the maturational differences between children. So while two children may be of the same chronological age, they can be miles apart in terms of biological age. Taking Karamoko Dembélé as a perfect example. Only 13 years old and recently made his debut for Celtic U21s in a development squad match. Chronologically he is 13 but biologically he is visibly more mature, similar to a 15 or 16-year-old. The debate on whether he should have been playing or not is one for another time and place.
Once children become biologically and socially mature enough to engage in resistance training they should be encouraged to do so. Exposure to this at an earlier age sets the foundation for the rest of their life. It’s often spoken about that the ages between 8 and 12 are the most important in terms of development, and they would be correct. Neuroplasticity is a terms used to describe the brains ability to change throughout life. During the sampling years (8-12) a child brain is more ‘plastic’ so to speak and their ability to take on information and retain it is drastically enhanced. What they learn during this phase of their life will have a huge bearing on future development and increases their training age.
Training age refers to the length of time an athlete is involved in a structured and organised resistance training programme. In this instance it’s a case of quality over quantity in the sense that a longer training age does not necessarily equate to a better developed athlete. It’s important to expose athletes to a wide variety of sports and games to facilitate skill transfer from one sport to another. Think of the physical attributes developed by a player who plays rugby or GAA and also plays soccer. Or the outstanding sprint technique developed by a child who is involved in athletics from a very young age. All these point back to better movers making better players. Players with a lower training age should be involved in a programme with a heavy focus on developing fundamental movement skills (FMS). Basic skills like running, jumping, landing, throwing, catching and kicking etc. Once athletes are competent in these they can progress to more difficult skills and structured exercises. Athletes who have been involved in a training programme for several years (6/7 years beginning at a young age) they can integrate certain weightlifting exercises. FMS should be routinely re-visited to ensure no technical deficiencies in simple skills. Exercise bouts should move from pre-planned to reactive agility sessions to elicit game scenarios and significantly reduce injury risk.
Once children become biologically and socially mature enough to engage in resistance training they should be encouraged to do so. Exposure to this at an earlier age sets the foundation for the rest of their life. It’s often spoken about that the ages between 8 and 12 are the most important in terms of development, and they would be correct. Neuroplasticity is a terms used to describe the brains ability to change throughout life. During the sampling years (8-12) a child brain is more ‘plastic’ so to speak and their ability to take on information and retain it is drastically enhanced. What they learn during this phase of their life will have a huge bearing on future development and increases their training age.
Training age refers to the length of time an athlete is involved in a structured and organised resistance training programme. In this instance it’s a case of quality over quantity in the sense that a longer training age does not necessarily equate to a better developed athlete. It’s important to expose athletes to a wide variety of sports and games to facilitate skill transfer from one sport to another. Think of the physical attributes developed by a player who plays rugby or GAA and also plays soccer. Or the outstanding sprint technique developed by a child who is involved in athletics from a very young age. All these point back to better movers making better players. Players with a lower training age should be involved in a programme with a heavy focus on developing fundamental movement skills (FMS). Basic skills like running, jumping, landing, throwing, catching and kicking etc. Once athletes are competent in these they can progress to more difficult skills and structured exercises. Athletes who have been involved in a training programme for several years (6/7 years beginning at a young age) they can integrate certain weightlifting exercises. FMS should be routinely re-visited to ensure no technical deficiencies in simple skills. Exercise bouts should move from pre-planned to reactive agility sessions to elicit game scenarios and significantly reduce injury risk.
Figure 1. Key movement patterns that are the foundation of any comprehensive resistance training programme. Adapted from Myer et al. (2013).
There are certain training variables that you must consider first before beginning a resistance training programme with a youth athlete. These are exercise selection, volume and intensity, rest intervals, training frequency and repetition velocity. We will discuss each one of them in greater detail.
Exercise Selection
There are thousands of different exercises out there to choose from, making it increasingly harder to choose what exercises would better suit the athlete you are working with. First point to remember is that they are not miniature adults so don’t treat them like one. Youth athletes must be exposed to as many different types of exercise as possible (Myer et al. 2013). Consider the points made above pertaining to training age and social maturity. Technical competency of any exercise should be paramount. Simple exercises should be implemented first to develop self-efficacy and competence before progressing to more advanced complex exercises. Free weight exercises should be preferred over machine based exercises as there will be greater activation of the stabiliser muscles during free weight movements. Exercises should lean towards multi-joint exercises over single joint (dumbbell back squat vs seated leg extension).
Volume and Intensity
These are the most important variables manipulate in any training programme. Volume is the total load lifted during an exercise or during a session. It is usually calculated by multiplying the weight lifted by the total number of repetitions completed of that exercise. For example, completing 3 sets of 8 repetitions of 60kg for a barbell back squat would equate to a total volume of 1,440kg (3x8 = 24, 24x60kg = 1,440kg). Intensity is the percentage of a person’s 1 repetition maximum lifted (1RM = amount a person is able to lift for one rep only). So an example would be a person who has a 1RM of 100kg and they lift 60kg, they are only lifting at an intensity of 60%. Whereas someone who lifts the same weight but only has a 1RM of 80kg is now lifting at an intensity of 75%, making the exercise harder. While maximal testing of children isn’t practical, it has been shown in cases to be safe if supervised correctly (Faigenbaum et al. 2003). Keeping in mind that technical proficiency is always our main priority when resistance training with youth athletes, volume and intensity should be adjusted accordingly based on how the athlete performs. If an athlete can show competency in a given rep range, then you can increase the load marginally. If an athlete can goblet squat an 8kg dumbbell for 12 reps comfortably, then they can progress to 10kg while still working within the 8-12 rep range.
Rest Intervals
Rest intervals must be managed to reduce likelihood of injury. Research has shown that children can recover from exercise bouts faster than older athletes (Zafeiridis et al. 2005).Research also shows that recovery from anaerobic exercise is dependent on maturity. 1-minute rest between sets should be sufficient to fully recover, but this is also dependent on the session content. If working on explosive plyometric exercises to improve power, then you may need to allow more rest when compared to a session based on slow controlled repetitions of a bodyweight squat.
Training Frequency
Frequency is the amount of exercise sessions performed each week. 2/3 days per week on non-consecutive days has been shown to be sufficient, increasing as training age increases. It’s important to include variety in the sessions to expose athletes to as many different movements as possible. For adolescents involved in competitive sport then resistance training should be viewed as mandatory to maintain muscular strength and reduce likelihood of injury. Engaging in a PE lesson during the day will not adversely affect fitness performance in after school exercise sessions (Faigenbaum et al. 2010). Training frequency accounts for the total accumulated fatigue in youth athletes, so it’s essential to know when to pull back if your athlete is experiencing chronic fatigue (fatigue accumulated after several sessions or weeks. Not to be confused with acute fatigue).
Repetition Velocity
This is the speed at which an exercise is performed. This can range from slow and controlled to explosive and powerful, including everything in between. This will be exercise dependent, athlete dependent and training age related. During the beginner phase it’s important to develop movement capacity. Performing movements slow and controlled will promote this. Slow repetitions with regular feedback during this phase. Over time you can progress to moving faster, even under greater loads. As mentioned in the first article, motor unit recruitment is an important aspect of youth athletic development. Motor units are recruited in order of size, meaning that if the internal stimulus (intention to move as quick as possible) or external stimulus (load lifted during a set) is not sufficient, then certain motor units will not be recruited. Hence, when an athlete is more advance and they are technically competent in several exercise it’s important to continuously emphasis the intention to move as quick as possible. It is vital to understand appropriate application of repetition velocity.
Exercise Selection
There are thousands of different exercises out there to choose from, making it increasingly harder to choose what exercises would better suit the athlete you are working with. First point to remember is that they are not miniature adults so don’t treat them like one. Youth athletes must be exposed to as many different types of exercise as possible (Myer et al. 2013). Consider the points made above pertaining to training age and social maturity. Technical competency of any exercise should be paramount. Simple exercises should be implemented first to develop self-efficacy and competence before progressing to more advanced complex exercises. Free weight exercises should be preferred over machine based exercises as there will be greater activation of the stabiliser muscles during free weight movements. Exercises should lean towards multi-joint exercises over single joint (dumbbell back squat vs seated leg extension).
Volume and Intensity
These are the most important variables manipulate in any training programme. Volume is the total load lifted during an exercise or during a session. It is usually calculated by multiplying the weight lifted by the total number of repetitions completed of that exercise. For example, completing 3 sets of 8 repetitions of 60kg for a barbell back squat would equate to a total volume of 1,440kg (3x8 = 24, 24x60kg = 1,440kg). Intensity is the percentage of a person’s 1 repetition maximum lifted (1RM = amount a person is able to lift for one rep only). So an example would be a person who has a 1RM of 100kg and they lift 60kg, they are only lifting at an intensity of 60%. Whereas someone who lifts the same weight but only has a 1RM of 80kg is now lifting at an intensity of 75%, making the exercise harder. While maximal testing of children isn’t practical, it has been shown in cases to be safe if supervised correctly (Faigenbaum et al. 2003). Keeping in mind that technical proficiency is always our main priority when resistance training with youth athletes, volume and intensity should be adjusted accordingly based on how the athlete performs. If an athlete can show competency in a given rep range, then you can increase the load marginally. If an athlete can goblet squat an 8kg dumbbell for 12 reps comfortably, then they can progress to 10kg while still working within the 8-12 rep range.
Rest Intervals
Rest intervals must be managed to reduce likelihood of injury. Research has shown that children can recover from exercise bouts faster than older athletes (Zafeiridis et al. 2005).Research also shows that recovery from anaerobic exercise is dependent on maturity. 1-minute rest between sets should be sufficient to fully recover, but this is also dependent on the session content. If working on explosive plyometric exercises to improve power, then you may need to allow more rest when compared to a session based on slow controlled repetitions of a bodyweight squat.
Training Frequency
Frequency is the amount of exercise sessions performed each week. 2/3 days per week on non-consecutive days has been shown to be sufficient, increasing as training age increases. It’s important to include variety in the sessions to expose athletes to as many different movements as possible. For adolescents involved in competitive sport then resistance training should be viewed as mandatory to maintain muscular strength and reduce likelihood of injury. Engaging in a PE lesson during the day will not adversely affect fitness performance in after school exercise sessions (Faigenbaum et al. 2010). Training frequency accounts for the total accumulated fatigue in youth athletes, so it’s essential to know when to pull back if your athlete is experiencing chronic fatigue (fatigue accumulated after several sessions or weeks. Not to be confused with acute fatigue).
Repetition Velocity
This is the speed at which an exercise is performed. This can range from slow and controlled to explosive and powerful, including everything in between. This will be exercise dependent, athlete dependent and training age related. During the beginner phase it’s important to develop movement capacity. Performing movements slow and controlled will promote this. Slow repetitions with regular feedback during this phase. Over time you can progress to moving faster, even under greater loads. As mentioned in the first article, motor unit recruitment is an important aspect of youth athletic development. Motor units are recruited in order of size, meaning that if the internal stimulus (intention to move as quick as possible) or external stimulus (load lifted during a set) is not sufficient, then certain motor units will not be recruited. Hence, when an athlete is more advance and they are technically competent in several exercise it’s important to continuously emphasis the intention to move as quick as possible. It is vital to understand appropriate application of repetition velocity.
Figure 2. UKSCA recommendations for training variables. Adapted from Lloyd et al. (2012).
Take Home Message:
- Notion that children are too young is a myth.
- Training age must be considered when prescribing training, but also the quality of their training history.
- Understand the different between chronological age and biological age.
- Technical competency of an exercise comes first over increasing load.
- Exposure to numerous amounts of exercise modes and exercises is equally important.
- Training age can be increased, but can also be regressed if training cessation occurs.
- Understand the different variables that make up a programme.
- All strength training must be safe and supervised at all times.
Reference List:
- Faigenbaum, A. D., McFarland, J. E., Buchanan, E., Ratamess, N. A., Kang, J. and Hoffman, J. R. (2010) 'After-school fitness performance is not altered after physical education lessons in adolescent athletes', J Strength Cond Res, 24(3), 765-70.
- Faigenbaum, A. D., Milliken, L. A. and Westcott, W. L. (2003) 'Maximal strength testing in healthy children', The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 17(1), 162-166.
- Myer, G. D., Lloyd, R. S., Brent, J. L. and Faigenbaum, A. D. (2013) 'How young is “too young” to start training?', ACSM's health & fitness journal, 17(5), 14.
- Zafeiridis, A., Dalamitros, A., Dipla, K., Manou, V., Galanis, N. and Kellis, S. (2005) 'Recovery during high-intensity intermittent anaerobic exercise in boys, teens, and men', Med Sci Sports Exerc, 37(3), 505-512.
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