Principles of Strength and Conditioning
1. Strength and Conditioning in Youth and Adolescents
Childhood – the developmental period of life from the end of infancy to the beginning of
adolescence. It refers to people of both genders who have not developed any secondary sex
characteristics.
During this period, sex differences in strength and body size are less profound and total body
mass doubles between the ages of 6-12 years.
Adolescence – the period of life between childhood and adulthood. It’s a difficult period to
define in terms of chronological age due to varying maturation rates but typically it is from
12-18 in girls and 14-18 in boys.
Adolescents is a period of cognitive and physical development between the onset of puberty
and attainment of adulthood.
Should kids engage in S and C?
There is compelling evidence that supports regular participation in youth resistance training
to reinforce positive health and fitness adaptations and sports performance enhancement.
Research has indicated that various forms of resistance training can elicit significant
performance improvements in muscular strength, power productivity, running velocity and
general motor performance. From a health perspective, it can cause positive alterations in
overall body composition, reduce body fat and enhance cardiac function.
Awareness of the potential variation in biological age amongst children of the same
chronological age is key to ensuring that youth are trained safely and effectively.
There is no minimum age requirement for participation youth resistance-training
programmes, however all participants should have the fundamental competence too accept
and follow instructions, understand basic safety considerations and possess competent
levels of balance and postural control.
As children reach the onset of puberty, they experience rapid growth, along with observable
non-linear gain in muscular strength.
,Young athletes who adopt an early-diversification, late-specialisation approach to their
development have fewer injuries, are at less risk of overtraining, and play sports longer than
those who specialise in one sport before puberty.
Strength adaptation:
Increases in strength during childhood appear to be related to the maturation of the
central nervous system.
Strength gains during adolescence are typically driven by further neural
development, but structural and architectural changes result largely from increased
hormonal concentrations, especially in males.
Further increases in muscle cross-sectional area, muscle pennation angle and
continued motor unit differentiation will typically enable adolescents to express
greater levels of force, and partly explain the age-related differences in strength
between children, adolescents and adults.
The rare case reports of epiphyseal plate fractures related to strength training are attributed
to misusing equipment, lifting inappropriate amounts of weight, using improper technique
or training without qualified adult supervision. Soft tissue injuries to the back are also a
result of poor form.
Some practical considerations for S and C with youth athletes include safety/suitability of the
exercise, enjoyment, contact time and progression.
, 2. Strength and Conditioning in Elderly
Ageing is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon that manifests differently between
individuals throughout the lifespan. It is highly conditional on interactions between genetic,
environmental, behavioural and demographic characteristics.
Even with healthy ageing, reductions in physiological resilience often lead to physical
disability, mobility impairments, falls and decreased independence and quality of life.
Muscle strength, endurance and quality, balance and mobility, motor performance and
flexibility all decrease with age.
The loss of muscle mass and strength in elderly
populations represents a public health problem.
Sarcopenia is characterised as low muscle
strength, low muscle quality or quantity and low
physical performance. It can cause a hormone
imbalance, systemic inflammation and reactive
oxygen species which leads to a decrease in
muscle mass and unhealthy mitochondria.
Observational studies indicate that roughly 1% of muscle mass is lost per year after
the fourth decade of your life.
Sarcopenia has an estimated prevalence of 10% in adults older than 60, rising to 50%
in adults older than 80.
Sarcopenia is part of the casual pathway for strength loss, disability and morbidity in
elderly populations.
Evidence links muscular weakness to a host of negative age-related health outcomes
including diabetes, disability, cognitive decline, osteoporosis, changes in dynamic
balance and movement coordination and early mortality.
Health care costs increase by an average of £2707 for a sarcopenic patient with an estimated
total cost of £2.5billion.
In an Ageing Population:
Key strategies to employ to elderly populations are
preserving muscle mass which we may lose with age
and strengthening bones to prevent osteoporosis.
Current research shows that countering muscle
disuse through resistance training is a powerful
intervention to combat muscle strength loss, muscle
mass loss, mobility, independence and quality of life.
, Poor physical performance has been shown to predict disability, nursing home admission
and mortality in community-dwelling elderly. On top of this, Muscular strength is inversely
and independently associated with death from cancer in men.
Benefits of Strength Training:
Increased muscle and bone mass, muscle strength, flexibility, dynamic balance, self-
confidence and self-esteem.
Helps to reduce the symptoms of various chronic diseases such as arthritis,
depression, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, sleep disorders and heart disease.
Research also demonstrates that strength training in elderly with functional
limitations reduces falls.
Evidence-based Exercise Recommendations:
Regular (2-3 days per week) achieving adequate intensity (70-85% 1RM) and volume
(2-3 sets per exercise) of 1-2 multi-joint exercises per major muscle group.
Resistance exercise results in favourable neuromuscular adaptations in both healthy
and unhealthy elderly.
These adaptations translate directly to functional improvements of daily living
activities. Resistance training may also improve balance, preserve bone density,
independence, arthritis, osteoporosis whilst also improving psychological and
cognitive benefits.
If weight training seems to intense, they should start with bodyweight exercises such as
squats, lunges, step-ups and knee extensions.
Caution:
Engaging in resistance exercise performed until failure causes an elicit increase in
blood pressure, heart rate and cardiac output.
Frailty in elderly over 65 is high and continues to increase with age. The training must
be tailored to the population for it to be safe and benefit.
Resistance training should be supplemented with the recommended amount of
physical activity to prevent obesity.
1. Strength and Conditioning in Youth and Adolescents
Childhood – the developmental period of life from the end of infancy to the beginning of
adolescence. It refers to people of both genders who have not developed any secondary sex
characteristics.
During this period, sex differences in strength and body size are less profound and total body
mass doubles between the ages of 6-12 years.
Adolescence – the period of life between childhood and adulthood. It’s a difficult period to
define in terms of chronological age due to varying maturation rates but typically it is from
12-18 in girls and 14-18 in boys.
Adolescents is a period of cognitive and physical development between the onset of puberty
and attainment of adulthood.
Should kids engage in S and C?
There is compelling evidence that supports regular participation in youth resistance training
to reinforce positive health and fitness adaptations and sports performance enhancement.
Research has indicated that various forms of resistance training can elicit significant
performance improvements in muscular strength, power productivity, running velocity and
general motor performance. From a health perspective, it can cause positive alterations in
overall body composition, reduce body fat and enhance cardiac function.
Awareness of the potential variation in biological age amongst children of the same
chronological age is key to ensuring that youth are trained safely and effectively.
There is no minimum age requirement for participation youth resistance-training
programmes, however all participants should have the fundamental competence too accept
and follow instructions, understand basic safety considerations and possess competent
levels of balance and postural control.
As children reach the onset of puberty, they experience rapid growth, along with observable
non-linear gain in muscular strength.
,Young athletes who adopt an early-diversification, late-specialisation approach to their
development have fewer injuries, are at less risk of overtraining, and play sports longer than
those who specialise in one sport before puberty.
Strength adaptation:
Increases in strength during childhood appear to be related to the maturation of the
central nervous system.
Strength gains during adolescence are typically driven by further neural
development, but structural and architectural changes result largely from increased
hormonal concentrations, especially in males.
Further increases in muscle cross-sectional area, muscle pennation angle and
continued motor unit differentiation will typically enable adolescents to express
greater levels of force, and partly explain the age-related differences in strength
between children, adolescents and adults.
The rare case reports of epiphyseal plate fractures related to strength training are attributed
to misusing equipment, lifting inappropriate amounts of weight, using improper technique
or training without qualified adult supervision. Soft tissue injuries to the back are also a
result of poor form.
Some practical considerations for S and C with youth athletes include safety/suitability of the
exercise, enjoyment, contact time and progression.
, 2. Strength and Conditioning in Elderly
Ageing is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon that manifests differently between
individuals throughout the lifespan. It is highly conditional on interactions between genetic,
environmental, behavioural and demographic characteristics.
Even with healthy ageing, reductions in physiological resilience often lead to physical
disability, mobility impairments, falls and decreased independence and quality of life.
Muscle strength, endurance and quality, balance and mobility, motor performance and
flexibility all decrease with age.
The loss of muscle mass and strength in elderly
populations represents a public health problem.
Sarcopenia is characterised as low muscle
strength, low muscle quality or quantity and low
physical performance. It can cause a hormone
imbalance, systemic inflammation and reactive
oxygen species which leads to a decrease in
muscle mass and unhealthy mitochondria.
Observational studies indicate that roughly 1% of muscle mass is lost per year after
the fourth decade of your life.
Sarcopenia has an estimated prevalence of 10% in adults older than 60, rising to 50%
in adults older than 80.
Sarcopenia is part of the casual pathway for strength loss, disability and morbidity in
elderly populations.
Evidence links muscular weakness to a host of negative age-related health outcomes
including diabetes, disability, cognitive decline, osteoporosis, changes in dynamic
balance and movement coordination and early mortality.
Health care costs increase by an average of £2707 for a sarcopenic patient with an estimated
total cost of £2.5billion.
In an Ageing Population:
Key strategies to employ to elderly populations are
preserving muscle mass which we may lose with age
and strengthening bones to prevent osteoporosis.
Current research shows that countering muscle
disuse through resistance training is a powerful
intervention to combat muscle strength loss, muscle
mass loss, mobility, independence and quality of life.
, Poor physical performance has been shown to predict disability, nursing home admission
and mortality in community-dwelling elderly. On top of this, Muscular strength is inversely
and independently associated with death from cancer in men.
Benefits of Strength Training:
Increased muscle and bone mass, muscle strength, flexibility, dynamic balance, self-
confidence and self-esteem.
Helps to reduce the symptoms of various chronic diseases such as arthritis,
depression, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, sleep disorders and heart disease.
Research also demonstrates that strength training in elderly with functional
limitations reduces falls.
Evidence-based Exercise Recommendations:
Regular (2-3 days per week) achieving adequate intensity (70-85% 1RM) and volume
(2-3 sets per exercise) of 1-2 multi-joint exercises per major muscle group.
Resistance exercise results in favourable neuromuscular adaptations in both healthy
and unhealthy elderly.
These adaptations translate directly to functional improvements of daily living
activities. Resistance training may also improve balance, preserve bone density,
independence, arthritis, osteoporosis whilst also improving psychological and
cognitive benefits.
If weight training seems to intense, they should start with bodyweight exercises such as
squats, lunges, step-ups and knee extensions.
Caution:
Engaging in resistance exercise performed until failure causes an elicit increase in
blood pressure, heart rate and cardiac output.
Frailty in elderly over 65 is high and continues to increase with age. The training must
be tailored to the population for it to be safe and benefit.
Resistance training should be supplemented with the recommended amount of
physical activity to prevent obesity.
