Youth Resistance Training

Abstract

This 22-page paper includes a position statement, a literature review of the benefits and risks of resistance training for young people, recommended youth resistance training guidelines, and an extensive list of 145 related references. Selected points for the Recommended Youth Resistance Training Guidelines follow. For purposes of this position statement, the term youth was broadly defined as an early period of life that includes both the prepubescent and adolescent years. Resistance training was defined as a specialized form of conditioning that is used to increase one's ability to exert or resist force and that is distinct from the competitive sports of powerlifting and weightlifting.