Benefits of Youth S&C
I offer 1 to 1 youth strength and conditioning coaching in a private studio gym in North Kensington - aimed towards youth athletes that are aiming to improve their long-term potential by learning how to train safely and effectively. Ultimately, we'll focus on increasing strength, power and explosiveness for performance, just the same as with an adult, but with youth athletes we'll pay extra attention to how the athlete is coping with the overall training load and adapt sessions as necessary. Â
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Sport challenges many areas of the body, most notably the hips, knees, feet and ankles, and because it is unpredictable, it's easy to exceed an athlete's capabilities without even realising. To help avoid injury, it is important to prepare athletes for the forces that they will be subjected to during sport and training - particularly whilst their body is still growing. If these areas aren't able to cope with the forces you are putting through them, or they can't cope with your training volume, they can subject the joints above and below them to imbalances, as well as risk injury themselves. A well thought out and executed weight training programme is an incredibly safe and effective way to target areas that are weak and prepare them for the exercise that you do.Â
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Parents are welcome to sit in on sessions, and whilst it's not the biggest space in the world, there is space to sit in the corner!
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Youth Strength and Conditioning Coach
1 to 1 youth S&C coaching in our private studio gym near Ladbroke Grove
Why work with me
My degree in Sports and Exercise Sciences, my master's degree in Sports Medicine, Exercise and Health, as well as my work within elite sport, have all helped me to develop the ways that I train clients. My aim is to support you and help you achieve your goals - figuring out the best way of achieving that is a challenge I enjoy. Your input is crucial, as you are the only one that can feel what is going on, so we'll work together to progress as quickly and safely, as possible.Â
• 100% Private Studio Sessions
• Tailored Programming & Progress Tracking
• Science-Based Strength Strategies
FAQ
The simple answer is no. Whilst your growth plates are more fragile whilst you are still growing, as long as you perform exercises correctly, you are very unlikely to damage them in the gym. It is actually much more likely for them to get damaged during running and jumping, as the peak forces they are subjected to can be much higher during these activities, and they are typically repeated drastically more times than anything we'll do in the gym.
Will weight training stunt growth?
Not if you train like an athlete, no. Whilst bodybuilders and athletes may do many of the same exercises in the gym, the intent of the way we lift the weight is typically very different, and the adaptations will also be different. This means that people following generic training programmes may well get slower, but look at the fastest humans in the world and look at their physique and you can see that training correctly will actually create the potential for you to become much faster.
Will putting on muscle make you slow?
There is no right answer to this, but in essence, there is no correct age to start. Whilst athletes that haven't reached puberty yet will not be able to put on very much muscle mass, they can still benefit from strength training by learning good technique and they can still adapt and get drastically stronger. I would suggest focussing most of your time on things that are fun and subjecting yourself to a variety of different sports and activities. Gym isn't the most engaging thing (it can be pretty boring and repetitive!), so don't feel pressured into doing it, but if you are interested in strength and conditioning being part of your overall routine, there's no reason to avoid it until any set age.