When it comes to a lot of things (diet, savings, etc.) they always say the best time to start was…. yesterday. I feel just as passionate about strength training the youth.
Why you ask?
Because I firmly believe that reps matter. When you start training at a younger age, you are building it into their schedule that way they are already accustomed to it. If they want to play in high school and college weight training will become a part of their schedule whether they like it or not. It helps adapt a healthy lifestyle. Anything they start at a young age gives you a longer time horizon to develop.
The injury rate in youth, middle and high school athletes is at an all-time high. This can be attributed to a variety of reasons:
- Lack of training
- Overtraining
- Lack of kinesthetic awareness
- Poor training
Even with training, injures will still happen. I am not guaranteeing they will never get injured, but the goal is to make them more resilient. Taking the time to build a strong athletic foundation of jumping, sprinting, pushing, pulling, carrying and some core work will go a long way.
Here are some guidelines I live by:
Youth athletes
- 1 x per week training (30-45 mins)
- Push, pull, hinge, squat, jump, sprint, carry
- Bodyweight
- Keep it fun
- Group settings helps keep it fun, relay race, competitions… etc.
Late Middle School/High School athletes
- 2 x per week training (could be 1 x per week if in season)
- Push, pull, hinge, squat, jump, sprint, carry
- Bodyweight, bands, DB, KB, Sleds, Weights
- Build out a schedule for week so that athlete is not being overloaded with training, practice, games, tournaments.
- Education of movements becomes important
High School/College
- 2-4 x per week training (depending on training age, time of year, time)
- Push, pull, hinge, squat, jump, sprint, carry
- Bodyweight, bands, DB, KB, Sleds, Weights, Barbells
- Training should be built into athlete’s weekly schedule.
- Athlete should understand training goals for each day/week/month
I understand that not everyone likes to train, but the payoff can be huge. The best ability we all have as athletes is availability and training will help us be more resilient athletes therefore increasing our chances of being available to play. Don’t wait, start today!
If you have any questions or would like to discuss, please feel free to DM me @CM1_Performane on Instagram.
With strength
Colin Masterson