Weights can damage growing bones and joints

Building Strength in Kids is easy but it has to be done the right way.

As kids grow their bodies are changing rapidly with growing bones and stretching tendons, muscles and ligaments.  It is dangerous to promote weight training for young kids.  The stress of resistance weights can damage joints and bones at a young age.

Although kids should refrain from pumping iron, we don’t want to wrap them in cotton wool and stop them from getting stronger.  Kids simply need to train with a weight that is suited to them personally.

The best weight for a kid is Their Own Bodyweight!

It doesn’t matter if a kids is tall, short, fat or thin.  Their own bodyweight is the weight that their body is used to carrying around.

The key to bodyweight training is to make their muscles move them in different ways.  Most kids walk, run and occasionally crawl so their muscles are used to these exercises.  To create more resistance in movements we have to make them perform new exercises.

I am currently putting together my new series of games designed to build functional core strength in young kids.  I am going to include a Strength Game in every issue of the monthly Martial Games Newsletter for you to use with your own class.

These Strength Games include a mixture of fast dynamic movements, slow held positions, pulling, pushing, twisting and turning that will improve not only the strength of your kids, but also their balance, muscle control and give them explosive power.

The other advantage of bodyweight exercises is that they can be done everyday.  Unlike the split system weight training used for body building.  These Games can be used everyday to build functional strength and endurance.

Again the kids will think they are simply having fun and playing martial arts games (which they are), but they are also building a solid base and strengthening their bodies to be better martial artists.

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