Youth Exercise Training

The OPT model consists of three main levels of training. These include stabilization, strength, and power. Within each of these levels are specific phases of training that elicit a specific adaptation. Five total phases exist, but for youth clients primarily use the first two phases.Sometimes a health and fitness professional will encounter a youth client who is adept at progression,or one who is more mature with exceptional dynamic postural control. These clients may also train in the higher phases of the OPT model, such as power training. Often, these clients are athletes that excel at their respective sports. A health and fitness professional may use power training for a general youth client. However, that’s only under the assumption that they have progressed through the stabilization and strength levels of training.

• The Stabilization Level.

• The first level of training in the OPT model focuseson the main anatomical adaptation of stabilization.Its design prepares a client’s body for the demandsof the higher levels of training that will follow and/or increases the current level of postural stability. This level is crucial for a youth client because it provides the appropriate intensity of training to establish proper exercise technique. By training in this level, youth greatly increase their neuromuscular coordination. The stabilization level focuses on the following:

• Increased stability.

• Increased muscular endurance.

• Increased neuromuscular efficiency of the core musculature.

• Improved inter and intramuscular coordination.

• Improved overall cardiorespiratory and neuromuscular condition.

• Proper movement patterns and exercise technique.The stabilization level of training in the OPT model consists of a single phase of training — Stabilization Endurance Training (Phase 1). See Table 10.1 for acute variables within this phase.

  
  

• The Strength Level

  The second level of training, the strength level of the OPT model, focuses on the main adaptation of strength. It includes three phases of training: Strength Endurance Training (Phase 2), Hypertrophy Training (Phase 3), and Maximal Strength Training (Phase 4). The strength level and its phases increase the amount of stress on the body. It is a necessary progression from stabilization for anyone who desires to increase caloric expenditure, muscle size, muscle strength and/ or bone mineral density. The strength level focuses on the following principles:

• Increased ability of the core musculature to stabilize the pelvis and spine under heavier loads and through more complete rangesof motion.

• Increased load-bearing capabilities of muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints.

• Increased volume of training with more reps, sets, and intensity.

• Increased metabolic demand by taxing the ATP/CP and glycolysis energy systems to induce cellular changes in muscle (weight loss and/or hypertrophy).

• Increased motor unit recruitment, frequency of motor unit recruitment, and motor unit synchronization (maximal strength).A health and fitness professional can use the Hypertrophy and Maximal Strength Training Phases, but the typical youth client will predominantly training Phase 2 (Table 10.2). The Hypertrophy Training Phase is for individuals who have a goal of maximal muscle growth, and the Maximal Strength Training Phase maximizes prime mover strength by lifting heavy loads. However, most youth will not need to train in these phases.

  
  

• Bone Mineral Content and DensityPhysical activity helps stimulate the development of bone mineral content (g) and bone mineral density (g/cm3)in youth. Childhood and adolescence is a crucial time for accruing bone, as this process begins to slow and cease by the time a person reaches their mid-20s. Therefore, it is important for youth to take part in weight-bearing physical activities, such as running, jumping and dancing.During puberty, bone mineral content accrues at a faster rate than during earlier childhood. Researchers note that early pubescence is a time during which bone is especially responsive to the benefits of weight-bearing physical activity. These activities stimulate bone mineral acquisition as youth support their weight inthe presence of gravity. They also help increase ground reaction forces and resultant loading on bones.During growth and development, bone mineraldensity increases when the activity of the osteoblasts exceeds that of osteoclasts. Many factors influence this process, including genetics, diet (particularly calcium levels), vitamin D, and the type and amount of physical activities. In addition, growth hormone, testosterone, estrogen, and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) also influence bone accrual. This primarily occurs during puberty when these hormones are increasing .

  
  

• Summary

  A comprehensive assessment for a youth client provides valuable information regarding the client’s goals, needs, and abilities. A typical youth client is going to spend the majority of their time training in the first two phases of the OPT model: Stabilization and Strength Endurance Training. However, those clients with exceptional dynamic postural control or higher levels of maturity will also be able to train in higher phases, such as the power phase. The FITTE principle is best used for cardiorespiratory training, and circuit training provides a great alternative to traditional cardiorespiratory training. To ensure safe and effective training for this population, health and fitness professionals mustplace this information into a systematic programming scheme, follow specific guidelines, and then implement them with precision. The OPT model provides health and fitness professionals with the system of training to optimize their safety and effectiveness.

  
  

  Cardiorespiratory Training

• Benefits

  As the obesity epidemic grows, it is important that youth develop healthy living habits when they’re young. According to the CDC, children who are obese while they’re young will likely be obese as adults.

• Cardiorespiratory training helps reduce the risk factors that link to obesity, such as cancer, high cholesterol, hypertension, and prediabetes. An easy and methodical way for health and fitness professionalsto prescribe cardiorespiratory fitness programs is to use the FITTE principle, which stands for frequency, intensity, time, type, and enjoyment. By combining and altering these factors, health and fitness professionals can individualize appropriate programs for clients.

  
  

• Speed, Agility, Quickness Training

  SAQ training is similar to plyometric training in which the individual responds to the ground surface’s reaction forces. Speed refers to the speed or velocity of distance covered, divided by time (i.e., straight ahead speed). Agility refers to short bursts of movement that involve a change of movement direction, cadence, or speed. And quickness refers to the ability to react to a stimulus and appropriately change the motion of the body.

  For youth, SAQ training effectively provides exposure to physiological, neuromuscular, and biomechanical demands, resulting in the further development of physical ability and potentially decreasing the riskof injury. It allows youth to enhance their ability to accelerate, decelerate, and dynamically stabilize their entire body during higher velocity acceleration and deceleration movements in all planes of motion, such as running, cutting, and changing direction.

  The majority of youth today spend little if any time performing generalized, unstructured physical activity (playtime) that would facilitate the developmentof SAQ skills. SAQ programs for youth decrease the likelihood of athletic injury, increase the likelihood of exercise participation later in life, and improve physical fitness.

References. Wilson GJ, Newton RU, Murphy AJ, et al. The optimal training load for the development of dynamic athletic performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1993:1279-1286.2. Newton RU, Hakkinen K, Hakkinen A, et al. Mixed-methods resistance training increases power and strength of young and older men. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2002, 34:1367-1375