Insights into Training the Aspiring Teenage Athlete
We have had quite a few teenage athletes begin their training journey with us recently. Many of these athletes have been young boys and between 14-16 years old. Interestingly, many of these male athletes aspire to be professional athletes and most have buckets of talent and are also willing to put in the hard work.
What has been most interesting about these young athletes is that prior to coming to see us they all had been doing their own self-administered strength training. Most of them were doing up to 5 sessions a week (on top of their sporting schedules) of mostly unstructured training, stolen from the internet or inspired by social media posts (we know this because we asked them). To the untrained eye this may sound amazing and these hardworking boys should be applauded. And yes their dedication is certainly admirable, however could they be doing more harm than good?
Our concern is that yes, without the right guidance and education around training loads, correct technique and age appropriate training, these young boys may be setting themselves up for injury, burnout or diminished performance.
Therefore we were inspired to right this post AND offer some of this much needed guidance and education to our next generation of superstars.
What is the problem?
Information overload
There is such a plethora of information available on the Internet these days, particularly information related to health and fitness. At the click of a button a program for any sport, any body type, any goal, can be generated. Many of these programs are great and highly credible however none of them are individualised or tailored to what a growing body needs.
Training like mini adults
Many of the exercises young athletes are doing are compound lifts that look cool and are what they see the pros doing on their social media pages. Many of these exercises using barbels like deadlifts and squats are highly technical and require specific coaching to ensure proficiency. These are also highly advanced and require a specific level of strength and training experience before attempted.
Too much focus on “strength”
Without the benefit of a degree in exercise prescription, young boys get lost in the numbers and lifting BIG which is a misinterpretation of strength training. Often the main aim for these athletes is to lift as heavy as possible or increase muscle bulk. Both these goals are not necessarily bad for young athletes, however they are not the best way to train long term. This type of maximal strength/ hypertrophy training needs to be interspersed with periods of power and speed-strength training to ensure the athlete continues to transfer their strength gains over to their sports performance.
No corrective exercises
The most worrying thing we have seen with the young athletes in our gym is the overwhelming need for corrective exercises. Corrective exercises are those tailored to the individual and are typically used in conjunction with traditional compound lifts to target specific areas of weakness, asymmetry, mobility or injury risk reduction. Young athletes usually overlook these exercises, as they are less exciting. However, what they lack in Instagram bragging rights they certainly gain in providing a more holistic strength program. Most corrective exercises are unilateral (single leg or arm), balance and coordination focused and might include minimal resistance like bands. Many of the young athletes we see need specific work on areas of mobility, balance, trunk and pelvic control, ankle stability and eccentric strength.
No balance in intensity
It is a misconception that the only way to train if you want to improve is to smash yourself. This could not be further from the truth, particularly if gym training is working alongside sports training and competition. Many young athletes we see are surprised that some sessions don’t leave them exhausted or muscles burning. This is because we don’t want to fatigue our athletes too much, especially when their main priority is to perform well in training or on game day. Why would we want to compromise that? Across the week, training intensities should not be constantly 10/10. Balancing intensities across a training week is critical for long-term success. For example, low intensity recovery days should come after high intensity sessions, and medium intensity sessions should also cycle across the week.
What is the solution?
Aspiring young athletes should ask for help
Many young athletes think they’re doing their very best job when it comes to training. They don’t know what they don’t know. So we encourage aspiring athletes to ask for help. It’s very hard to know how to filter the credible training advice from the gimmicks, therefore speaking to a trustworthy s&c coach would be the starting point for any athlete.
Elite athletes have a responsibility
When posting workouts and sessions in the gym elite athletes need to be aware that all of their young fans are likely to want to try whatever it is they are doing. Therefore, we encourage those influential athletes to post a variety of sessions and exercises to show the complexity of their training.
Think the long game
Aspiring athletes need to think long term with their development. Too often we see an influx of training motivation at the beginning of the year or in early pre-season only for this to dwindle away as competition begins or over school holidays. It is so important to be consistent with training across a number of years to develop into adulthood. Constant spikes or dips in training loads are known to increase injury risk. Therefore training consistency is key. This is where having a coach help to plan the year around specific training phases and phases of development can be so important to keep on track and continue to stay motivated.
