The loud, wall-shaking music, the clanking of metal, and high school boys breathing heavily while lifting weights has always been a part of athletic training at LZHS.
Whether it’s 6:15 in the morning, during PE classes, or after school, there are always athletes in the weight room with their workout sheets recording their exercise.
Strength training took off in the 70s and 80s because it helped with athletic performance, David Proffitt, football head coach, said. Today, various studies inform athletes that weight lifting can have several disadvantages that accompany its benefits.
Both Proffitt and Lisa Taurus, physical therapist, took time to explain their perspectives about teen weight lifting.
David Proffitt, head football coach
“Strength training for athletes is essential because it prevents injuries, makes them strong to withstand games and practices, and gives them self confidence as they get stronger,” Proffitt said.
Adam Kubes, senior, admitted that he started to lift to shape up and gain confidence.
“I was a bigger kid when I was younger. I decided to lift, eat well, and play football and lacrosse,” Kubes said. “I went from 210 pounds to 180 pounds.”
Even though weight lifting has benefits, the athlete must be guided and supervised, according to Proffitt.
“Lifting can be beneficial to a teen if conducted with a certified professional,” Proffitt said. “At LZ,[Chad] Beaver, [dean of students], [Aaron] Towne, [assistant football coach and physical education teacher], [Dean] Jewett, [health and physical education teacher], and myself are all certified by the National Strength Training Organization.”
Being a certified professional, Proffitt gives the football players a guideline they should follow while lifting to get positive results, Proffitt said.
“The more repetitions you do, the more aerobic the activity is. The muscle adapts to resistance and doesn’t get stronger if it’s adjusted to the weight,” Proffitt said. “My belief, through research and experience, is that a majority respond best between eight and twelve repetitions for the upper body. You start at eight, and once you get to twelve, you increase the weight and work up to twelve repetitions again. For lower muscles, 10 to 15 repetitions is better, and once you reach 15, you can increase the weight. As for the number of sets, some will respond to two to three sets, or some may respond better with one set. One or the other depends on the person, and they have to experiment on their own for results.”
Out of all the muscles, Proffitt said he emphasizes strengthening the neck muscles the most.
“For football, strengthening the neck is a must,” Proffitt said. “You need to have a strong neck to embrace head-on collisions when blocking and tackling, which can possibly help prevent concussions and disabilities.”
Although weight lifting may be a popular form of exercise for football players, they must be careful with the equipment to ensure their safety. Considering the football team’s attitude, most are serious and responsible while lifting, Proffitt said.
“When I am in the weight room in the morning, a majority of the football players there are serious,” Kubes said. “Most don’t even talk because they are really focused on their exercise and doing it right.”
Although football players tend to be in the weight room on their own time, Proffitt said, they focus on other areas of fitness during practice concerning skill and speed to become well-rounded athletes.
Lisa Taurus, physical therapist
In general, strength training has some benefits regarding body composition, but can have several drawbacks regarding injuries, Taurus said.
“Some benefits are increased muscle mass, bone density, decreased body fat, better balance, and prevention of injuries. As for drawbacks, teens who turn to weight lifting for strength training could damage their tendons and growth plates,” Taurus said. “Light lifting is okay, but heavy lifting should not be done until the early twenties. If you are going to lift, stick to lighter weight and more repetitions.”
Also, teens who lift usually make common mistakes, which can lead to several injuries Taurus said.
“Some teens do deep squats, which can lead to knee cap issues and patellofemoral pain syndrome [characterized by pain or discomfort originating from the contact of the back of the kneecap with the thigh bone, according to WebMD’s website],” Taurus said. “They can use improper form and have improper posture, and overextend their joints while lifting.”
Teens should consider general guidelines when lifting to ensure their own safety, Taurus said.
“In your early teens, strength training should consist of using your own body weight, using exercise balls or bands. You really shouldn’t start lifting until the later teens,” Taurus said. “But if you are going to lift, you should focus on correct techniques and altering muscle groups. You want to strengthen the whole body, not just certain groups. And you shouldn’t over-do it. You need to take days off, vary muscle groups, and stop lifting if it hurts.”
Additionally, teens are more prone to injuries because they are still growing, she said.
“If teens are heavy lifting, but still using proper form, they can still hurt their growth plates,” Taurus said. “A controversial topic is that all lifting stunts growth. There is no true research that proves that, but anytime they are putting more stress on their plates, it can hurt and they can be more vulnerable to injuries. Also, young muscles and tendons can be injured easily, especially in males, because teens’ bones are growing rapidly and tendons are tighter, which can lead to tendonitis bursitis. Teens can also damage their cartilage and hurt discs in their spine.”
If teens choose to lift, they should focus on flexibility too, Taurus said.
“Flexibility should be worked on while strength training because muscles can tend to be tighter, which can lead to more injuries,” Taurus said. “Coaches should want kids to be well-rounded, not just visually being bulky, and focus on other areas on fitness, too.”