Ask the Strength Coach
By Mark Philippi
Philippi Sports Institute
What is the right age to have kids start training with weights?
I get this question all the time. It is funny we will let our kids watch countless hours of TV and play hours of video games without thinking about it but when it comes to working out we then get concerned about their welfare. Kids can start an exercise and resistance training program as early as 8 or 9 years old. Now I don’t suggest that they start doing heavy squats and deadlifts at 8 years old but they can start to learn the movement patterns of the exercises. Bodyweight exercises or movements with a stick or light bar can be started at this age. This is a good time to teach a young athlete proper lifting technique, which is often neglected, by many coaches later on in the young athletes sport career. I think the critical factors at this age are making sure the lifts are taught correctly and that the child can pay attention throughout the workout. I usually like to start working with kids at 11-12 years old, because they are a little more focused. Young athletes that wait until they start high school before they begin a resistance program are missing a critical window of development that occurs between 11 and 14 yrs old. They are going through growth spurts where they will lose coordination and relative strength. By participating in a proper strength program they will increase their athletic ability during these growth periods, setting them ahead of their classmates. A young athlete that begins a weight-training program for the first time will initially get stronger because they learn the motor skills of the exercise technique not because of muscle growth. Hypertrophy will take 4 to 5 weeks of consistent training before the young athlete will become “ buff”. It is even more important for you female athletes to start a resistance-training program. According to the National Strength and Conditioning Association girls are six times more likely to blow an ACL than boys while participating in athletics. Research shows that this can be prevented with a proper resistance-training program. It is time to get your kids off the couch and into the gym
Got any good functional upper back exercises?
Here’s one I used to use to train for strongman events. If you want to turn a few heads at your gym, increase your upper back, arm strength, and low back stability you can add plate rows to your heavy back workout. Plate rows are used to simulate stone lifting, an event in strongman competitions. Competition stones range from 250lbs to 400lbs. An explosive pull of the stone from the ground to your lap is essential to a successful stone lift and lifting plates in the gym simulate this movement.
Throw a 10 lb plate on the ground and place a 100lb on top of it so the holes match up. You can start with a 45lb plate if you need. Straddle the plate and grasp underneath the edges. Keep your back flat (parallel to the ground), your knees slightly bent and your head in a neutral position. Pull the plate from the ground to your lower chest in a rowing motion. Warm-up with a set of ten reps. Next, stack another 45lb or 100lb plate on top of the previous plate again so the holes match up. Do another set. Work up to 3 to 4 heavy sets of five reps. As you stack more plates on top of one another, the movement will become shorter. You can also get your legs involved in the lift as the weight increases, stone lifting is an explosive movement and using them to initially get the weight moving is fine. It is easier to stack 45 lb weights or 100 lb weights but you can also use 25lb or 10 lb weights while increasing the intensity of the lift. Just be careful not to tip the stack and drop one on your toe. Also make sure you set the weights down close to centered over the 10lb weight preventing your fingers from getting pinched.
Try plate lifts to add some life to your workout and slabs of functional muscle to your back and arms.