Introduction
Nowadays, the comprehensive learning programs in school are designed specifically to improve health-based concepts of body fitness. Recent recommendations provide that the youth must engage in 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous exercises daily. The physical fitness regimes are constructed in an enjoyable and mentally appropriate manner that involves a variety of activities. Not only are the exercises crucial for adequate development and growth, but also a physically active lifestyle during a person’s pediatric years helps to limit the chances of suffering from chronic illnesses later in life. The exercises are normally grouped based on the mode of training that the individuals require. Some of them such as weight lifting and strength exercises facilitate resistance training while others enhance the power of a person. Rigorous sports also promote an individual’s endurance. This essay derives an outline of the potential hazards and benefits of resistance training and contact sports to the youth.
Analysis
According to Cheema et.al (2014), resistance training entails a specialized way of conditioning that involves a vast array of resistive loads and training modalities that improve sports, fitness, and health performance. The term is often utilized synonymously with weight and strength training. However, in the ideal sense, resistance training encompasses more training goals and modalities. Weightlifting involves a sport that is quite competitive and exposes the players to the performance of clean jerk lifts. Resistance training amongst the youth has many benefits. They include the improvement of muscle power, motor skills, sports performance, psychosocial well-being, exercise habits as well as the reduction of exposure to cardiovascular illnesses.
In the 1970s and 80s, resistance training was not recommended for adolescents and children because it was presumed to pose injury risks. Safety commissions and injury surveillances produced data from emergency rooms that showed the projections of injuries stemming from the training equipment and exercises. The assumption was that the causalities were caused by resistance training. However, further exploration indicated that the patients were injured due to lack of qualified supervision, proper equipment, training techniques, and excessive loads. The current descriptive statistics does not show risk exposure to resistance training as long as it is prepared and carried out in the appropriate way (Garber et.al, 2011).
The resistance training has a degree of musculoskeletal injuries that is similar to other forms of physical activities. The same can be said concerning football, contact sports, and other play-related actions. Resistance training is also attributed to premature stretching and tearing of muscles amongst the youth. Experts term it as plyometric training where the body is exposed to forceful and rapid muscle action at an earlier stage. The plyometric exercises assist in conditioning the young ones to gruesome training that improves their functional abilities and biomechanics movements. The jumps and hops expose the muscles to shortening and lengthening resulting in an increase in body strength (Chapter 18).
Any activity or exercise recommendation for adolescents and children poses its benefits and risks. The hazards can be minimized through the appropriate design of the programs, careful selection of the equipment required for training, sensible progression, and qualified supervision. The individuals should also allow their bodies to recover after the resistance training sessions to regain strength. The adolescents should avoid maximal lifts, body building, and power lifting until they attain skeletal and physical maturity. They should also not indulge in performance-enhancing drugs or steroids to increase their ability to cope with the resistance training. Lastly, the children should have proper nutrition and take fluids to recover the energy (Gentil et.al, 2013).
Contact sports are also suitable ways for keeping fit and enhancing endurance. The games include rugby, hockey, soccer, football, basketball. They are preferred due to the amount of training needed to build adequate strength to handle the sporting activities. Unlike resistance training, contact sports do not involve the use of machines and equipment. However the exercises help people who indulge in the games to stay fit and acquire power. Kids who participate in regular play and sports appear healthier than the others who are physically inactive. Children who are not active increase their chances of suffering from chronic illnesses, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases in later life. Sports also charge up the functioning of the mind and critical thinking skills. The aspect occurs when the youngster develops the appropriate strategies to win a game and maneuver the defenses of the other team. Therefore, it is vital for children to be encouraged to take part in sports (Garber et.al, 2011).
The rigorous games expose the players to head and musculoskeletal injuries that can render them disabled for the rest of their lives. For instance, in American football or rugby, the players are required to maneuver the opponents and they sometimes get hit resulting in injuries. However, as highlighted earlier any activity can expose a child to harm, and people should not generalize particular sports as too violent for the kids. The skills and level of training ensure that the youth can avoid injuries that pertain to resistance training and contact sports. Weightlifting and strength training also enhance the endurance of the adolescents and children as well as their development and growth (Gentil et.al, 2013).
Strength training and weightlifting improve physiological and cardiovascular functioning. The muscles are toned to obtain endurance and power while the heart vessels open up to allow circulation to take place effectively. The two forms of exercises may appear similar to people, but they are different activities. Strength training is viewed as a means to an outcome while weightlifting is a competitive game. Various activities fall under the category of weightlifting but utilize strength training to boost their performances. Making a muscle larger requires an alternate approach from making it stronger. The phenomenon is another distinction between strength training and weightlifting. Therefore, in most cases people prefer to engage in strength training instead of weightlifting because they are not interested in competition (Chapter 19).
The training of the muscle to appear larger for cosmetic and observable purposes will require the individual to do weightlifting while adding power will involve strength training. It is essential to realize that with increased size comes enhanced strength so weightlifting is a means to enforce strength training. However, strength training can be carried out easily without the use of weights. It creates resistance in the muscles by putting them to work though not as rigorously as in resistance training. The utilization of weights also strengthens the body and increases the size and appearance of the muscles. It helps the individual tone the body and needs less time as compared to resistance and strength training (Garber et.al, 2011).
Summary
With the increasing levels of child obesity in many nations, it is crucial to direct additional focus to ensure that the kids grow up to become healthy adults. They should also be protected from severe heart and diet-related problems. More emphasis is thus necessary for them to indulge in rigorous physical activity to promote their health outcomes in future. The exercise will be in the form of resistance training, weightlifting, sports, and strength training (Cheema et.al, 2014). Conclusively, any activity whether sports or resistance training is beneficial to the children and also poses the risk of injury. They must be carried out in the appropriate ways so that the youth are not exposed to the danger that emanates from the lack of supervision and efficient tools. Resistance training and contact sports will develop a culture in the education systems and households that will display the importance of physical fitness to the children if they want to secure their futures. It is thus up to the parents and educators to safeguard the well-being of the youth and develop suitable programs that will promote their endurance and medical results.
References
Chapter 18 & 19. (n. d). Growth, Development, and Exercise in Children and Adolescents.
Cheema, B. S., Chan, D., Fahey, P., & Atlantis, E. (2014). Effect of progressive resistance training on measures of skeletal muscle hypertrophy, muscular strength and health- related quality of life in patients with chronic kidney disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 44(8), 1125-1138.
Garber, C. E., Blissmer, B., Deschenes, M. R., Franklin, B. A., Lamonte, M. J., Lee, I. M., & Swain, D. P. (2011). American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Quantity and quality of exercise for developing and maintaining cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and neuromotor fitness in apparently healthy adults: guidance for prescribing exercise. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 43(7), 1334-1359.
Gentil, P., Soares, S. R. S., Pereira, M. C., Cunha, R. R. D., Martorelli, S. S., Martorelli, A. S., & Bottaro, M. (2013). Effect of adding single-joint exercises to a multi-joint exercise resistance-training program on strength and hypertrophy in untrained subjects. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 38(3), 341-344.
