Neuromuscular Impact of Strength Training in Children and Adolescents: Implications for Exercise

The attitude towards resistance or strength training in children and adolescents has changed throughout the last couple of years due to international research efforts. Today, resistance training has proved to be a safe and effective regimen to increase strength performance, to enhance bone density, and to prevent injuries in youth sports and recreational activities. However, only little research has been done in German-speaking countries. On the basis of the relevant literature, this review deals with the neuromuscular impact of resistance training in children and adolescents as well as with the resultant implications for exercise. The findings of this review imply that resistance training protocols for grown-ups cannot directly be applied for the needs of children and adolescents. Differences in the physiological condition of children and grown-ups seem to be responsible for this phenomenon, which again cause divergent training-related neuromuscular adaptations. As a consequence, age-specific planning of resistance training protocols is mandatory.