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This
is becoming particularly important, as the number of overweight
and obese children has increased to dramatic proportions.
Resistance
Training Safe for Children?
For
years medical and exercise professionals discouraged prepubescent
youth from resistance training. However over the past decade youth
resistance training has gained recognition. Research has astoundingly
dispelled all of the past concerns, including the concern that
youth resistance training can lead to the breaking of growth plates.
In fact, there has never been an incidence of growth plate breakage
reported in the United States.
Other
past concerns were that prepubescent youth would not be able gain
muscle mass and that strength gains would quickly diminish with
the discontinuation of training. Both of these concerns have also
been dismissed. Muscle mass gain in resistance trained youth has
at this point been well documented. In fact studies performed
by the Westcott and associates have demonstrated significant gains
in lean mass compared to their non-resistance trained peers. They
were also able to lift more than their peers even 2-months after
resistance training was ceased. And most impressively, youth typically
report satisfaction with resistance training programs and often
request to continue.
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