Years ago there was a very popular monthly magazine titled Strength and Health. At first, I thought the words should be reversed, as health seemed to be a much broader and important life attribute than strength. However, after conducting research in the area of muscular fitness over the past 30 years, I now realize that for most practical purposes as your strength goes…so goes your health. Fred Hahn’s new book, Strong Kids, Healthy Kids, is therefore a perfect title for showing the direction we need to take to enhance the health and fitness of our nation’s young people.
As Fred clearly explains in his well-written text, the best time to be strong is during youth and the best time to develop strength is during youth. It’s a perfect match, and yet one that is poorly understood by most people and rarely recommended by fitness or medical professionals. Part of the problem is the myth that, from an injury perspective, resistance exercise is unsafe and interferes with normal bone growth. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. In all of the studies conducted on youth strength training over the past 30 years, not one has reported a serious injury resulting from supervised resistance exercise. With respect to bone, research reveals that preadolescent girls who strength train experience four times greater increase in bone mineral density during their ninth year of life than those who don’t perform resistance exercise. Let it be clearly understood that the best time to develop a strong musculoskeletal system (for life) is during youth, and that the best way to achieve this is through a sensible strength training program.
Although some people may think that resistance exercise is boring, we have never had that response from our youth strength training program participants. Throughout 20 years of conducting youth strength training studies, our classes have averaged better than a 90 percent attendance rate and a 95 percent completion rate. Youth enjoy both the process and the product of sensible strength training, especially those children who are overweight. Whereas heavier children typically perform poorly in sports that involve speed, endurance, and agility, they generally use higher resistance than their lighter peers, which makes strength training a highly reinforcing physical activity for them.
As youth develop a stronger musculoskeletal system, they experience improved physical capacity and performance power, which encourages them to be more active and athletically inclined. Of course, more physical activity results in greater energy expenditure which leads to less body fat. First, resistance exercise is a vigorous activity that burns six to eight calories per minute when performed in a circuit-training format. Second, after a few weeks of regular resistance exercise, the new and conditioned muscle requires more energy for tissue remodeling and maintenance purposes 24 hours a day, resulting in a higher resting metabolism. As Fred explains clearly in his text, these advantageous aspects of strength training are major factors for calorie use and fat loss.
While strength training may be the most important physical activity for youth, it should be performed in a safe and effective manner. Fred wisely advises against fast and momentumassisted strength training, as explosive movements with added resistance can place excessive stress on joint structures. Our research supports Fred’s slow-speed exercise protocol for maximizing strength development and minimizing injury risk. Equally important, the recommended strength training programs can be successfully performed in a time-efficient manner.
Indeed, if there is one activity that boys and girls in our sedentary society should be doing for strength and health it is sensible strength training. Strong Kids, Healthy Kids, by fitness expert Fred Hahn, presents essential information and excellent guidelines for safely, effectively, and efficiently achieving these most desirable goals.
By Wayne L. Westcott, Ph.D., Fitness Research Director, South Shore YMCA
Contents
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 The Slow Speed Training Program Basics
- Chapter 2 The Slow Speed Exercises
- Chapter 3 The Strong Kids, Healthy Kids Eating Plan
- Conclusion
- Case Studies
- Kid-Ready Recipes
- Endnotes
- Appendix
- Workout Progress Chart
- Index
About the Author
Fredrick Hahn (New York, NY), a professional exercise trainer for over 20 years, founded Serious Strength, Inc. in 1998. He is certified by the American Council on Exercise, and is president and cofounder of The National Council for Exercise Standards.
PRAISE FOR STRONG KIDS, HEALTHY KIDS
"In nearly 30 years as a medical reporter, the one thing that I continue to be amazed at is how much of what we once “knew” in health and medicine has proven to be wrong. From stem cells in adult hearts and brains to the causes and treatment of disease, medical knowledge is ever changing and growing. To that list we can now add the myth that weight training is dangerous for kids. Fred Hahn not only dispels the misconception that it’s harmful, he’s shown that it’s beneficial in numerous ways, not the least of which may be weight control for our increasingly sedentary young people. Better yet, Fred has shown us how to strength-train our children in a safe, effective, and, yes, even enjoyable manner. This is a book all parents need…for the health of their children."
By Dr. Max Gomez, Medical Correspondent for CBS-TV, New York
"Fred Hahn presents sound, well-researched facts on the importance of strength training for youngsters. Furthermore, Fred Hahn tells parents what to avoid in the areas of warm-up, flexibility, simulating sports skills, and fitness tests—which I whole-heartedly applaud."
By Ellington Darden, Ph.D., author of 47 fitness books, including The New Bodybuilding for Old-School Results
"Are you concerned that your kid is weak, obese, even headed toward Type 2 diabetes? If so, you will find the answers on how to help your kid become strong, healthy, and fit in Fred Hahn’s new book, Strong Kids, Healthy Kids. And the treatment is not some dangerous drug. Rather it is whole foods, pure water, exercise, and strength training à la Fred Hahn."
By Dr. Bruce West, Founder, HealthAlert.com
Product Details
- Hardcover: 176 pages
- Publisher: AMACOM (November 12, 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0814409423
- ISBN-13: 978-0814409428
- Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.5 x 1 inches
List Price: $21.95