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Goldilocks Training- How Much is “Just Right” for Your Young Athlete

Brian Sipotz • March 1, 2017

I get a lot of calls from busy parents looking to squeeze strength training into their son or daughter’s already packed schedule.  This is a good thing because as we know, strength training helps to build bone density, tendon strength, and muscle strength and coordination, which all add up to a safer, stronger athlete. Here are some general guidelines to follow when deciding how much strength training your son or daughter needs each week.

 

1 day per week : When it comes to young athletes, SOME strength training is better than NO strength training. There are several studies that reveal the benefits of working out in a well-designed strength training program once per week. One workout each week is good for those just learning to lift, and young athletes around 10-12 years old because it helps their brains handle different demands and become more efficient in athletic movements. In a long term athlete development model, kids in this age group are in the Learn to Train stage of development. This means the focus at this point is to go through full ranges of motion and teach them appropriate form and technique. They should learn what each movement “feels like”, and how they can perform them properly.  In this stage of development, there are a lot of connections being made in the brain, and strength training once per week can “pre-wire” the brain so when young athletes move on to more strenuous training and athletic schedules, their bodies are ready to handle that level and continue adapting and making improvements. So if your young athlete is in that age range, there is value to finding a quality strength training program that would allow them to gain some strength and a lot of experience in those movements.

 

2 days per week : If training once a week is good, training twice a week is great, especially for athletes between the ages of 11-15. With twice as many workouts (when compared to training once per week), a young athlete will get twice the stimulus, and ingrain strong movement patterns even more.  More stress applied to athletic patterns causes the body to overcompensate to prepare itself for greater demands down the road. This means improving brain-muscle connections and muscle tissue strength. As an added benefit, since training days are closer together, muscle soreness after workouts is actually reduced (once you get past the first couple workouts, that is).

 

Two workouts a week is also ideal for high school and college athletes who are in-season. In fact, when we work with high school teams during their season, we see improvements with a 30 minute workout, twice per week. It seems to strike that balance between stress and recovery. Get them in, work them hard, then send them home. That stress/recovery cycle is important for strength gain and overall performance. Yes, that’s right. Recovery is important too.

 

3 days per week : So, if 2 times a week is great, then 3 times a week must be even greater, right? Sorry, it’s not that simple.  The only time we have athletes lifting 3 times a week is when they are either older/more experienced athlete who needs more stimulus, or when athletes are in the off-season and have dedicated the time to strength gain.  Remember, that stress/recover cycle is important, and in season involves too many stressors (practice, competition, school?) to warrant 3 strength training sessions. So if strength gain is the focus of a 3-month time period, and the young athlete is in the off-season, then 3 strength workouts a week can be a good thing.  Many of our hockey players will lift Monday, Tuesday, Thursday in the summer, their (sort of) off-season.

 

These days, “off-season” is a relative term since it seems like every sport takes up 10 months of the calendar. So to clarify when 3 days per week of training is most effective, I’m talking about the time when the competitive season is over, and practices are the lightest.  That’s when the athletes can give their effort and energy to gaining strength that will make them perform better on the ice.

 

4 days per week : This is the ultimate off-season schedule for dedicated hockey players ages 17 and above.  At this point, players  know they will be moving on to the next level, or will at least have a shot at it. Until this point, the summers should be spent doing some strength training, and also improving athleticism by playing other sports like tennis, racquetball, and soccer. 4 training days each week is a heavy load and can have excellent results when done in the off-season.

 

Hopefully this helps you determine how much strength training should be a part of your young athlete’s development.  Two times a week seems to be the sweet spot, which is why we offer year-round  Performance Strength Programs  to bring proven, high quality, athletic strength training to young athletes ages 13-18.  Now that we are nearing the off-season, we also offer 3- and 4 day/week options for those who are looking to get the most dramatic results.

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What They Don’t Tell You About Dieting

March 29, 2022
So far I’ve introduced a little about the “non-diet” approach , as well as the Diet Cycle , which many people find themselves stuck in when using a restrictive “diet” approach to food and health. For some of those people, the idea of eating what they love and “giving up” on diet or weight loss doesn’t seem like an option, understandably. We face a LOT of pressure, day after day, to eat “clean” and lose weight. That pressure may come from well-intentioned family, friends, and healthcare professionals who are concerned about our health (more on that later); or from fear-inducing headlines that compare sugar to poison; or from photo-shopped & face-tuned ads on Instagram of celebrities selling their flat tummy tea or shapewear. We are surrounded by Diet Culture, and are forced to engage with it- no matter if it’s coming from our loved ones, acquaintances, coworkers, or even strangers. What exactly is Diet Culture? You might have an idea just from the sound of it... Messaging that promotes diet & weight loss. Right? It’s actually more than that. Here’s a definition from Aubrey Gordon, author of “What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat”: Diet Culture: “A system of cultural beliefs and practices that equates thinness not just with health, but with moral virtue, and which advocates for weight loss at any cost. Diet culture isn’t just a matter of being on a diet, but of the social forces that make dieting (or lifestyle changes or wellness) culturally mandatory for so many of us.” The key phrases are “moral virtue” and “weight loss at any cost”. Diet culture doesn’t only convince us that weight loss is necessary (to be beautiful, to demonstrate our worth, or to be healthy); but it creates this pressure that we are MORALLY obligated to do so. In order to be perceived as good, responsible people, Diet Culture urges us to pursue weight loss at any cost- which could mean sacrificing our social life, a significant amount of money on supplements or meal replacements or programs, our emotional wellbeing, and even our physical wellbeing. Maybe diet and weight loss aren’t so healthy after all… And while this may not be everyone’s experience, we have research that demonstrates the following emotional impacts of restrictive dieting: Dieting is associated with higher anxiety levels (Kwasnicka, 2020) Dieting is associated with poorer emotional and mental quality of life (Burns etal, 2001) Dieting is linked with reduced life satisfaction (Esch and Zullig, 2013) Further, restrictive dieting has actually been found to cause weight GAIN. To be clear, weight gain is nothing to be ashamed about (bodies change!); but if the multibillion dollar diet industry is selling a diet plan for weight loss, they’re not exactly being honest about the likely outcomes. 1⁄3 to 2⁄3 regained weight within 1 year, with almost all weight regained within 5 years (1992 NIH Consensus) Most weight is gained back within 2 years and most gained back all the weight by 5 years (2013 Australian Research Council) A team of UCLA researchers reviewed 31 long term studies on the effectiveness of dieting and concluded that dieting is a consistent predictor of weight gain —up to two-thirds of the people regained more weight than they lost (Mann 2007) This quote from Weight Watchers former Finance Director sums it up pretty well:

Break the Diet Cycle with Intuitive Eating

March 7, 2022
Good morning! Thank you to everyone who came out to Break the Diet Cycle presentation. I hope you’re starting today feeling curious about Intuitive Eating and eager to rediscover your favorite foods in a fresh, positive way. I attached the PDFs of the presentation for you to reference, as well as the “HAES (Health at Every Size) Manifesto”, by Dr. Lindo Bacon, author of Health at Every Size. This provides a snapshot of the science behind the weight neutral approach, Health at Every Size, which Intuitive Eating is aligned with. For those of you who couldn’t attend, you may be wondering- what exactly is Intuitive Eating? As I mentioned in an earlier newsletter, Intuitive Eating is a non-diet approach to food and health. The framework consists of 10 principles to help you examine and reevaluate your beliefs & attitudes about your body, your food, physical activity, health, and more. While practicing Intuitive Eating, individuals relearn how to eat in accordance to their natural hunger and fullness cues; food cravings; energy needs, and so on. They begin to trust their body to tell them when to eat, what to eat, and how much to eat. The Ten Principles of Intuitive Eating are: 1. Reject the Diet Mentality 2. Honor Your Hunger 3. Make Peace with Food 4. Challenge the Food Police 5. Feel Your Fullness 6. Discover the Satisfaction actor 7. Cope with Your Feelings without Using Food 8. Respect Your Body 9. Exercise to Feel the Difference 10. Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition Intuitive Eating may seem like a straightforward concept, but in a culture that heavily promotes dieting and weight loss as a path to health, happiness, and even moral virtue, it can be hard to break out of the Diet Cycle (seen below). Also known as the “Restrict-Binge Cycle”, this eating pattern is typically kicked off by some diet thought, like “I need to lose weight” or “I need to start eating better”.

Snack Break with Mary

January 25, 2022
Snack Break with Mary Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist & Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor at Advantage Strength

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