Youth resistance training: updated position statement paper from the National Strength and Conditioning Association

This NSCA position statement updates the association's 1985 and 1996 papers on resistance training for children and adolescents. An expert panel of exercise scientists, physicians and physical education teachers wrote it, and the NSCA Research Committee reviewed it before it was endorsed.

It covers four areas: the risks and concerns of youth resistance training, its health and fitness benefits, the type and amount of training healthy young people need, and program design for long-term progress.

Its core position is that a properly designed and supervised program is relatively safe for youth. Such a program can improve strength and power, cardiovascular risk profile, motor skills, resistance to sports injury, psychosocial well-being and exercise habits during childhood and adolescence. The authors stress that these benefits depend on age-appropriate guidelines and qualified instruction.