Should a 7 year-old be in a strength training program?

If you asked 50 people this question, I'd be willing to bet dollars-to-donuts you'd get 45 people to say "NO WAY!"

Is strength training bad for kids?

But far too often we get our terminology confused. "Strength Training" is not synonymous with "weight lifting." Another term that is grossly misunderstood is "resistance training." Think about these words and what they mean when we break them down.

Strength training - training the neuromuscular system in order to improve maximum force output or strength

Weight lifting - the act of lifting an external weight in an effort to overload the muscular system, and subsequently causing an adaptive response

Resistance Training - performing a series of movements using an implement to improve muscular force output

Don't be swayed by what most people think. Strength training can use any device, including the person's own body. If I asked a 7-year old to do a pushup is this wrong? If I asked him to do 2 sets of pushups doing as many as he can, would this be wrong?

Somewhere a sister is looking for her pants.

But this is what strength training for a 7-year old is! Teaching them how their body moves, how to control it and how to improve it. Otherwise we end up with kids that are either overweight or kids so weak they can't do a pullup so they start wearing their sister's pants.

So yes, 7-year old children should be in a structured training program if they are not playing sports. You are correct in saying that children of that age should not be lifting for maximum strength.

But training balance, coordination, rhythm and general body awareness and control is not something that needs to wait until he's "ready."

A good place to start training is our Junior Speed, Strength and Power (SSP) Camp. For ages 8-12, this is a 4-week summer training program that meets Tues/Thurs from 1-2:30pm. If you have any questions, feel free to send an email to aaron@pairmarotta.com and we'll be happy to answer any questions you may have!