Training Info for Young Wrestlers

I sometimes have parents ask me when is the appropriate time for kids to start lifting weights. I am not an expert at this, but I can say that kids can strength train at an early age. A good example of this is farm kids; they were lifting it just wasn’t in a typical fashion with weights. I can remember wrestling farm kids and all of them were strong, some were strong as bulls. So to answer the question, kids can start strength training when they want to start strength training (notice I did not say weight lifting). Don’t make kids trains it they don’t want to; I think you are inviting disaster if you do this. Later in life when they really need to strength train they won’t want to.

The next question is what type of training. You can stay off the weights and still improve strength just by doing body weight exercises, dumbbells, plyometrics. One area that all kids need to improve strength wise is in their core. That is the midsection; they have to be strong there before they can be strong anywhere else. I think that was why farm kids were so strong; they had to do movements (carrying, shoveling, etc) that improve core strength.

I am not a spokesman for this product but one exercise regimen that I think would be great for young kids is the P90X program. You have probably seen the infomercials on this product. The reason for its popularity is that it requires a small number of exercise pieces and it concentrates on improving athleticism, not just looking big. I would not suggest that kids do the whole routine, but just bits and pieces till they develop their endurance. We use sections of the program with our wrestling team and have seen significant improvements in their flexibility and core strength.

If you are not in the financial position to buy this product I would recommend a website that I have used for the past 8 years, HYPERLINK “http://www.crossfit.com” www.crossfit.com . This website has some great workouts; the site also has demonstrations of various exercises. There is also a website connected to crossfit, HYPERLINK “http://www.crossfitkids.com” www.crossfitkids.com. This site has some good workouts and exercises that are appropriate for younger kids.

I think the important thing to try to remember is to make strength training fun. The key here is to be creative; as long as the activity is fun kids won’t consider it work. I can think back when I was young and how I enjoyed chopping wood. It was a great workout, but I always enjoyed the activity so it never seemed like I was working out. Anything you can do that involves working the core area, such as carrying, shoveling, etc is going to be great for a kids overall athleticism.

Steve Hamilton – Perry High School Wrestling Coach