Injured Kids - Kettlebells the Remedy

Many people have mixed opinions on pre-teens engaging in resistance training - and rightfully so. So many parents want their children to have an "edge" so that they can get a scholarship to college. Being a parent, I can appreciate their concerns. However, there are very few children that get a full ride to an accredited college. Add to that the increased incident of of torn ACL's, Menicus, Elbow tendon replacements, rotator cuff, etc...back in the 80's these injuries were reserved primarily for only the professional athletes. 

Why are children having these debilitating  injuries before they finish puberty? 

1) Parents allow and even promote, their children training and competing in the same sport year round. There is no real break or ability to use their tendons and ligaments in another fashion other then their chosen sport. The athletes constantly tax their joints and muscles with the same movements, thus opening them up to repetitive stress injuries. 

2) Over-training. Not only the aforementioned, but then they pile on strength and "sport specific" training. OK - let's face facts - NONE OF THESE 12 YEAR OLD KIDS NEED SPORT SPECIFIC TRAINING! It's a farce. More than the money these parents are wasting, they are actually creating weaker ligaments and tendons in their children and are making them more susceptible to career threatening injuries.

3) Resistance training. Lifting weights - more is NOT better, but kids get bored and their inexperienced trainers keep pushing them to add more weight instead of working on their durability, flexibility and reflexive strength. Any time a youth uses more than 1/2 their bodyweight - they are opening themselves up to permanent joint damage. 

Kettlebells - enable the children to develop their strength, endurance and explosive power - WHILE increasing their flexibility and durability by strengthening their ligaments, tendons and core. When you train with kettlebells - complex movements are performed and require the recruitment of multiple muscle groups simultaneously. The kettlebell practioner has to use considerably less weight in kettlebells yet yields better results than you'd get with weight training. This also lessens the amount of stress on the joints. 

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