I asked Jason C Brown and Pamela MacElree to answer some on kettlebell training for youth questions…
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Thanks for the great info. I would like to now more on periodization for young athletes.
I think you need to be very careful as when to begin prescription of external loading for kids and youth. Many young atheltes can benefit greatly from simple body weight exercises which do not require external loading.
The recommendation was 3-5 reps for strength development. To produce hyptertrophy with such limited reps this means the young athlete is going to be required to lift a considerable external load…which I am not sure should be recommended for most athletes around 10-13 years of age.
I think as Jason covers this, all KB prescription should be based on individual development of the athlete and trainers should be very careful as not to prescribe for the sake of prescribing. But it should be appropriate.
You mention higher level of recruitment of muscle fiber utilization using KB vs. DB. The big question to ask is how much difference occurs in muscle fiber recruitment and is that off set by amount of risk is placed on the athletes using higher risk movement patterns like those utilized in KB training.
Duston Morris, Ph.D., M.S., ACE-CPT, USAT
Enjoyed the audio and thank you to Brian and the IYCA for providing very relevant and current info
The question relating to higher level of recruitment of muscle fiber utilization using KB vs. DB referred to the moment arm and levers (which was a fantastic example by Jason) making the KB more challenging …However would an increase (slight) in weight of the DB give the same result in terms of musle recruitment…For example same exercise different weight KB 5kg DB 6kg?
Regards Mark
Duston… Yes, body weight is certainly fine, but a myopic position of “body weight before external load” is not something the IYCA believes to be true, at all. Context is king in this discussion. Within our ‘Long-Term Development Model’, we adovcate external loading begins around the age of 9 – 13 (individual biological [etc] factors held in consideration). Practicaly speaking, the nervous system is still plastic and therefore in form-based coaching scenarios, we have a unqiue window within which to teach proper force production, absorption and execution of correct patterns that will become habitual for life. Our 3 – 5 rep scheme has nothing to do with strength or hypertrophy – it has to do with volume patterns. Traditionally, the science has told us that 12 – 15 reps of light load is safest for kids. We disagree. 15 reps is a lot time within which to execute incorrectly. The 3 – 5 rep marker we use has nothing to do with load increase – our loads are still highly sub-maximal. Instead, we keep the volume high by addiing sets and reducing expsoure (reps). Thus, a more accurate pattern of force is instilled in the young person without the risk of fatigue or mental error. And I highly disagree the KB training offers a higher risk (thus reducing the axiom of increased fiber recruitment). There are no unsafe exercises – only unsafe execution. Mark… I believe the lever arm of the KB is what makes it instrincally more able to recuit fibers. To me, adding load to the DB still wouldn’t alter the parameters there significantly. Thanks so much for the thoughts! BG
Great discussion.
When to externally load a young athlete is a debate, or conversation that has ton of merit. HOW you externally load a young athlete as well as WHY is equally important. The tools are many, the options abundant…doing what is developmentally appropriate based on a number of factors (not all physical) is paramount.
Example: Rolling or throwing a 2 kg med ball in an effort to get it as close to a line or cone without going past it is a prescription for external loading with no goal of hypertrophy.
An additional thought which speaks to Brian’s comment on rep/set schemes – 3-5 reps also ensures we are allowing the young athlete to learn the movement from a neural standpoint vs. a metabolic standpoint.
Great stuff!