KIDS TODAY

It sure seems that kids should inherently be physically fit doesn't it? I mean, don't kids all run around all day playing baseball, basketball, and football. Don't they ride their bikes all of the time and play hide-and-seek, chasing each other around like lunatics? No, unfortunately that is not the case. They watch MTV, play Sony Playstation, and eat Little Debbie cakes.

That is a good question. Setting a good example is the best start. I have two children, 17 and 18, and my wife and I do try to set a good example by working out regularly with weights, doing some aerobics and leading a somewhat active lifestyle, (not counting the time I spend authoring, editing, and updating this infernal web site!). I also try to encourage exercise for them, but as anyone who has kids knows, they know infinitely more than you or I, and trying to push anything too hard will only be met by resistance, So subtlety is needed. My kids do get interested once in awhile by my weight bench and weights, if only because it is a cool contraption.

SHOULD KIDS LIFT WEIGHTS ?

I think so, in moderation. Not a lot of information is available on this particular subject for some strange reason, so I don't have a lot of reference points, but I will tell you what my own personal experience has brought me to believe. When my kids show an interest in working out, I play the role of "personal trainer" quite often. I always emphasize utilizing proper form to avoid any type of injury, which would surely sour them on the idea of weight training. I also think that intensity levels should be kept fairly moderate. Kids muscles are already in a growing mode, and hormones abound, so, in my opinion, low-reps and high-weight are not needed to produce positive results as they are in adults. I also feel that trying to manipulate the muscle adaptation process too much in kids could have potential negative effects, when their bodies are in the process of forming. I really don't have any proof to back this up, it's just a hunch, and better safe than sorry, especially when our kids are at stake, (sure, they drive me out of my flippin' gourd, but I'm kind of attached to the little shits anyway).

I think it is obviously not a good idea for very young children, (infants and toddlers), to try to weight train. However, once they have reached the third or fourth grade level, or even sooner in some cases, many kids are already being introduced to organized sports, and physical fitness then becomes a necessity, if only to help avoid injury. After all, muscle is a much better shock absorber than fat. Again, intensity levels should not be too high, and aerobic exercise should be emphasized to a certain degree, if only to offset all the ice cream cones and the like, which also should be somewhat limited, but hey, kids gotta be kids! As for gender, just as in adults, I believe males and females should train in much the same ways and let the hormone levels determine masculinity and femininity. Your young daughter will only get healthy and fit by training with weights, not masculine.