A Few Facts of Youth Fitness

Facts

Strength training can make them stronger

            But it must be done in a sequential manner, in a way that maximizes their present level of athleticism and increases the ceiling for their potential.

Strength training will affect their performance

            Absolutely, it’s going to give them more mobility, stability, power and confidence. Those will alter the their performance by making them faster and more efficient – and they will have the ability to do more of what the coach wants from a developmental standpoint.

Sugar can make our kids dumber

            We have a chemical in the brain called brain-derived neurotrophic factor or (BDNF). One of its responsibilities is for help us create new long-term memories, helping us learn and helping exercise higher-order thinking. Speaking of exercise, it has been shown to positively influence the growth of BDNF. Meanwhile diets high in sugar, help reduce the growth of BNDF. (Gomez-Pinilla F, Zhuang Y, Feng J, Ying Z, Fan G, - Eur J Neurosci 2011 Feb; 33(3):383-90

            Cereal targeted at kids has 40% more sugar than the cereal targeted at adults.

So, mom and dad, when you bring your young athletes to practice fueled on ice cream, candy, doughnuts and a high percentage of the cereals on the market, the processed sugar is making the child’s ability to learn AND the coach’s teaching task much more difficult.