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Fitness Questions - Athletic Advantages for Kids!

Fitness Question:
I have a 8 year old son and a 6yr old. They are active in football and track and I want to establish speed and conditioning further extensive from what they do in practice. I want them to be faster and tougher than the other children. Any suggestions?

Fitness Answer:
In order to increase speed and quickness, there are many training techniques that can be implemented. It is initially much more important to improve balance, posture and stability of the trunk than it is to improve leg or arm strength.

Sprinters (or those wanting to improve speed) should develop overall fitness in a way that does not involve jogging. They should, however, BE ABLE to jog for a long distance without a problem. Overall fitness can be acquired through dance, medicine balls, skipping etc. A variety is best. Progressive circuit training is great.

Improving the ability to have the type of speed that comes with little effort is the goal. Athletes need to always practice relaxing when running. This is a skill that must be practiced from a young age. The ability to run fast and have it look easy is of the highest importance. The quality of an athlete that can have very fast steps is the first thing that needs to be developed from a young age.

Sprinters should not be instructed to run on their toes or to pump their arms high. It is better to develop a foot that is moving backward before impact and a foot carriage that is as close as possible to the shin (Dorsiflexion). Arms should be held with relaxed fingers and the main focus of effort should be a backward stroke. They should also not move very far forward from the body.

Maximum speed is the most important quality to develop on a regular basis. This should be done with maximum speed experiences over short distances. For example, quick bursts of 20-30 yard sprints along with longer sprints of 30-40-50 or 60 yards. The athlete should perform these runs at maximum relaxed speed in sets of 3 with rests in between of 2-3 minutes. During the rest periods, the athlete should stay moderately active by performing other balance or trunk activities such as stretching and abdominal work. A maximum amount may be 3 sets of 3 runs over 60 yards. A good amount to do regularly (i.e., 2-3 times per week) would be 2 sets of 3 runs over 40-50 yards. The athlete should never do more once they are getting slower within the session. For example, if the times over 60 yards are 8.30, 8.20, 8.25, 8.30, 8.60, 8.80, 9.00. Then they should have ended the session after the first obviously slower run in the session. In the example that was the 8.60 time. Initially runners may be slowing after even the first run, but with training they may be able to do up to 9 runs at the same speed.

The ability to develop the endurance to finish off a 100m or 200m race is best developed in races. Training at slower speeds to improve performance in these events is mostly of little positive effect. Endurance is best developed while running at race speed. This also enhances the mental factor of competition. If the athlete is really lacking in speed endurance at the end of these races they could do sessions like below:

•  2 x 3 x 60 yard runs at maximum speed with rests of only 90 seconds
•  4 x 100 yard very fast runs with rests 3 minutes.

It is important to have good foot function and for this reason it is useful for athletes to spend as much time as possible barefoot. Walking on sand is very good. Training should be conducted in very light simple shoes. Racing flats are much better than joggers for training in. In cold weather, athletes must warm-up carefully and keep warm. Tights are great for training as they maintain warmth during the frequent recoveries.

Training to improve muscle elasticity is very useful in all athletes. Games like hop scotch, skipping short distances, leap frog and playful hopping and bouncing around are all great stimulation to the elastic qualities of muscle. Jump roping is also a tremendous training tool to enhance agility and endurance. Combining sensible amounts of these activities with balance and relaxed movement practice is ideal, especially for very young athletes.

Any strength training should be restricted to the trunk until the athlete has optimal development of their posture and good levels of stability. Strength training is much more effective after this is developed anyway.

Young athletes lose flexibility as they grow and their bodies will naturally try to cheat to find ways to move to make up for the deficiency. Small amounts of perfect practice are great for minimizing the development of badhabits. Large amounts of high effort training during stages of decreased flexibility and poor posture will result in the athlete learning a bad running style that will be more difficult to correct. Athletes need to have a smart stretching program designed personally for them. They need to be taught good posture and given feedback on what is good and bad posture when sitting, standing, walking and running.

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