Balance Training and the Youth Athlete
I often tell parents that strength and conditioning are for people of all ages. It just looks different for kids and the elderly, the athlete and non-athletes. Parents are often skeptical about formal exercise and training for their athletes. And rightfully so. Certain strength and conditioning protocols can be highly inappropriate for children. And unfortunately, many coaches and even “certified” personal trainers may push for these inappropriate measures in the name of winning.
When it comes to training young athletes, I share most parents’ concerns that heavy weightlifting isn’t appropriate for kids. However, strength training isn’t just about weightlifting. Pre-schoolers all the way up to pre-teens spend lots of time on their feet running, jumping, climbing, and going through incredible amounts of different forces of acceleration and deceleration. They are strength training already without knowing it.
Given they are active beings, bodyweight training is highly appropriate for children. It can be very helpful for a child’s developing body to learn how to properly balance and stabilize their joints through the forces they are already experiencing. A 2020 study from Germany showed that a 12-week balancing program helped improve balance for young athletes. In addition, the athletes showed reduced lower limb injury rates during the study.
Exercise goes way beyond athletics for our children, too, however. The youthful years are crucial to developing proper movement habits to develop sufficient balance and proper posture. Without sufficient balance and postural behaviors, injuries and pain are far more likely now and down the road. Regular play helps with that, but specific bodyweight training can help perfect it. Bodyweight training requires balance, and balance requires bodyweight training.
Start with the Basics of Balance Training
A smart, progressive program should start with bilateral exercises, meaning on two feet. You can’t learn to balance on one leg without being efficient on two feet. Bodyweight squats and hip hinges are great places to begin. Balance isn’t just about the legs, though. The upper body should get some love, too, with some basic wall pushups. Kids should learn to develop symmetry when pushing their body weight. If you have suspension straps, they can be used for the same principles for pulling.
Plyometrics
After some mastery with slower repetitions of two-legged exercises, it’s time to progress to two-legged plyometrics, or “plyos.” These are your jumps. Jump from the floor, from a box, onto a box, leaping forward, etc.
There are many options when it comes to strength and plyometrics, even when restricted to two-legged exercises. Athletes should work to quickly develop mastery of technique in bodyweight exercises. Do not aim for high amounts of reps or add weight. Mastery of technique should be the emphasis.
Unilateral Training
Almost all athletics and human movement is done unilaterally and reciprocally. That means we move one limb at a time, alternating limbs. When we run, throw, swing, punch, and kick, one leg or arm moves forward, the other moves back simultaneously. That’s how we operate, and that’s how our athletes should train.
If an athlete wants to develop good balance, they must master unilateral bodyweight exercises. Most kids find it easy to balance one leg while standing still. Balancing a lunging exercise? Different story. The majority of sports are played at very fast speeds on one leg. Single leg balance and stability in those awkward postures are crucial to keeping them healthy and performing well.
After bilateral exercise technique has been established, here are the go-to unilateral strength exercises for young athletes.
- Lunges. Nothing beats lunges. They are great bang-for-your-buck exercises that are relevant to any sport. They are fantastic for developing balance, coordination, hip and knee stability, and total leg strength. Front lunges, lateral lunges, reverse lunges, walking lunges, and Bulgarian split squats. These are all bodyweight lunge patterns that every athlete should develop proficiency in.
- Hip hinges. Lunges are essentially one-legged squats. Hip hinges are the other major movement pattern for the legs. Learning to properly hip hinge allows the athletes to fully engage their hips, which contain the body’s biggest and most powerful muscles. Developing proficiency in this pattern, especially on one leg, will dramatically improve single-leg balancing, strength, and power. The top two exercises for this are single-leg RDLs and single-leg hip thrusts.
Single-Leg Plyometrics
The final progression for optimizing balance in young athletes is unilateral plyos. Single leg jumping, hopping, bounding, and skipping are all appropriate. Thousands of modifications can be used, such as jumping onto boxes, over cones, hurdles, moving forward, side, back, changing directions in the air, up, down, alternating legs, heights, and different surfaces. The variations are endless.
Programming
There isn’t one specific exercise that’s better than the other. Kids need variety. Try them all. Find what ones you and your team like. By far, the most important factor is safety for the kids. They must establish a proper technique and earn the right to progress to more advanced exercises. That cannot be stressed enough
Besides technique, the repetition volume should be monitored. Kids have developing bodies and growing bones. These bones are vulnerable to stress fractures when overused. The science isn’t clear on exact boundaries. Still, young kids should keep plyometric reps roughly between 80-120 touches, with each jump being one rep, even with one leg. Ample rest times should be used, and plyometric workouts shouldn’t be on consecutive days.
Don’t lose sight of the ultimate goal. For long-term athletic development, kids don’t need to develop brute strength. The prepubescent years are ideal for the development of balance and coordination. Mastery of technique with just their body weight should be emphasized. These highlighted exercises and their progressions will create an ideal environment to develop the best athletes possible.
For more articles on balance training, CLICK HERE!
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Balance Training and the Youth Athlete
I often tell parents that strength and conditioning are for people of all ages. It just looks different for kids and the elderly, the athlete and non-athletes. Parents are often skeptical about formal exercise and training for their athletes. And rightfully so. Certain strength and conditioning protocols can be highly inappropriate for children. And unfortunately, many coaches and even “certified” personal trainers may push for these inappropriate measures in the name of winning.
When it comes to training young athletes, I share most parents’ concerns that heavy weightlifting isn’t appropriate for kids. However, strength training isn’t just about weightlifting. Pre-schoolers all the way up to pre-teens spend lots of time on their feet running, jumping, climbing, and going through incredible amounts of different forces of acceleration and deceleration. They are strength training already without knowing it.
Given they are active beings, bodyweight training is highly appropriate for children. It can be very helpful for a child’s developing body to learn how to properly balance and stabilize their joints through the forces they are already experiencing. A 2020 study from Germany showed that a 12-week balancing program helped improve balance for young athletes. In addition, the athletes showed reduced lower limb injury rates during the study.
Exercise goes way beyond athletics for our children, too, however. The youthful years are crucial to developing proper movement habits to develop sufficient balance and proper posture. Without sufficient balance and postural behaviors, injuries and pain are far more likely now and down the road. Regular play helps with that, but specific bodyweight training can help perfect it. Bodyweight training requires balance, and balance requires bodyweight training.
Start with the Basics of Balance Training
A smart, progressive program should start with bilateral exercises, meaning on two feet. You can’t learn to balance on one leg without being efficient on two feet. Bodyweight squats and hip hinges are great places to begin. Balance isn’t just about the legs, though. The upper body should get some love, too, with some basic wall pushups. Kids should learn to develop symmetry when pushing their body weight. If you have suspension straps, they can be used for the same principles for pulling.
Plyometrics
After some mastery with slower repetitions of two-legged exercises, it’s time to progress to two-legged plyometrics, or “plyos.” These are your jumps. Jump from the floor, from a box, onto a box, leaping forward, etc.
There are many options when it comes to strength and plyometrics, even when restricted to two-legged exercises. Athletes should work to quickly develop mastery of technique in bodyweight exercises. Do not aim for high amounts of reps or add weight. Mastery of technique should be the emphasis.
Unilateral Training
Almost all athletics and human movement is done unilaterally and reciprocally. That means we move one limb at a time, alternating limbs. When we run, throw, swing, punch, and kick, one leg or arm moves forward, the other moves back simultaneously. That’s how we operate, and that’s how our athletes should train.
If an athlete wants to develop good balance, they must master unilateral bodyweight exercises. Most kids find it easy to balance one leg while standing still. Balancing a lunging exercise? Different story. The majority of sports are played at very fast speeds on one leg. Single leg balance and stability in those awkward postures are crucial to keeping them healthy and performing well.
After bilateral exercise technique has been established, here are the go-to unilateral strength exercises for young athletes.
- Lunges. Nothing beats lunges. They are great bang-for-your-buck exercises that are relevant to any sport. They are fantastic for developing balance, coordination, hip and knee stability, and total leg strength. Front lunges, lateral lunges, reverse lunges, walking lunges, and Bulgarian split squats. These are all bodyweight lunge patterns that every athlete should develop proficiency in.
- Hip hinges. Lunges are essentially one-legged squats. Hip hinges are the other major movement pattern for the legs. Learning to properly hip hinge allows the athletes to fully engage their hips, which contain the body’s biggest and most powerful muscles. Developing proficiency in this pattern, especially on one leg, will dramatically improve single-leg balancing, strength, and power. The top two exercises for this are single-leg RDLs and single-leg hip thrusts.
Single-Leg Plyometrics
The final progression for optimizing balance in young athletes is unilateral plyos. Single leg jumping, hopping, bounding, and skipping are all appropriate. Thousands of modifications can be used, such as jumping onto boxes, over cones, hurdles, moving forward, side, back, changing directions in the air, up, down, alternating legs, heights, and different surfaces. The variations are endless.
Programming
There isn’t one specific exercise that’s better than the other. Kids need variety. Try them all. Find what ones you and your team like. By far, the most important factor is safety for the kids. They must establish a proper technique and earn the right to progress to more advanced exercises. That cannot be stressed enough
Besides technique, the repetition volume should be monitored. Kids have developing bodies and growing bones. These bones are vulnerable to stress fractures when overused. The science isn’t clear on exact boundaries. Still, young kids should keep plyometric reps roughly between 80-120 touches, with each jump being one rep, even with one leg. Ample rest times should be used, and plyometric workouts shouldn’t be on consecutive days.
Don’t lose sight of the ultimate goal. For long-term athletic development, kids don’t need to develop brute strength. The prepubescent years are ideal for the development of balance and coordination. Mastery of technique with just their body weight should be emphasized. These highlighted exercises and their progressions will create an ideal environment to develop the best athletes possible.
For more articles on balance training, CLICK HERE!