7 principles for strength training in childhood and adolescence

The primary goal of strength training in childhood and adolescence is to promote motivation. Much more important than the current development is the education for sports, because only those who do not necessarily associate sports with negations will practice sports and especially strength training outside of school and after school.
In the foreground is the development of the supporting and holding muscles (abdominal muscles and back muscles)
All exercises should be performed in a child-friendly manner and with absolute safety.
In addition to strength training, the focus is on developing coordination skills.
The development of strength has to be designed extensively in order to create an optimal basis for later sporting stress.
In childhood no maximum force contents may be integrated, since the supporting apparatus is not yet sufficiently developed.
The breaks should be longer in children’s training than in youth and adult training.

The development of strength in the individual age groups

At this pre-school age, strength training makes no sense and must not be done. The children’s healthy urge to move should be used to provide specific stimuli for bone growth and muscle growth in accordance with childhood needs. The movement kindergarten and obstacle course is particularly suitable for this.

In this early school age the stabilization of the holding and supporting apparatus is still in the foreground, but the children’s urge to move can be used for adequate strength training. In the first instance, it is at this age that explosive strength should be trained, as this is where the greatest and most significant improvements in performance can be achieved. However, it is important to ensure that the strength training is placed in a motivational context appropriate for the age of the children.

Circuit training is particularly suitable because it provides variety and training control. The load should be held between 15 and 20 seconds, with a 40 second break. Between five and ten stations should be completed with the fastest possible movements.

This age ends with the onset of puberty. This age stage is mainly concerned with the development of the most important muscle groups (back muscles, leg muscles, abdominal muscles). However, no exercises with additional weights may be used.

Only exercises in which the own body weight is carried and pulled, or the use of expander bands are suitable at this age stage. Due to the already good coordinative development, the exercises can be chosen to be more demanding in terms of coordination at this age. However, care should still be taken to ensure that the exercises are performed in a playful manner to promote motivation for strength training.