Youth Strength Training - by Faigenbaum & Westcott

- Sunday, 12 December, 2010

The Olympics used to be the first place that teenage talent was shown to the world. People were amazed by tiny young girls and their incredible routines, then just as young swimmers who beat people twice their age.

Now we see our own Tom Daley, a World Champion in his mid-teens and teenage tennis players who have only just been prevented from full-time commitment to their sport, together with Channel 4 programmes about 10 year olds who can lift a car.

Teenage tennis talent had just as many physical and mental problems as did the world beating gymnasts produced to make us all gasp (back in the 80s and 90s) at what they physically could do and success such as Daley's (at his tender age) is now rare. Matthew Tate played his first rugby match for England looking like a broom handle in white shorts. Mid 20s and he was back and twice the size, simply because he could then physically take the strength training workouts to compliment his natural abilities

Younger sports people are now more careful about what they do to their bodies yet still there are over-use injuries, some if not many which could have been prevented by better conditioning or conditioning that worked with a more limited playing time. With professional rewards talent and ability can be nurtured so that there are more success stories, not tales of what might have been

It is possible and beneficial to strength train at a young age but not to do watered down version of what an adult commits to. Training young people from ages 7-18 is laid out in 'Youth Strength Training' from the fundamentals through broad based balanced development of muscles and support structure before you then can consider sports-specific and age specific training.

The results of working with young people properly are far fewer imbalance problems, better economy of effort and less overuse injuries, as you will find out in this excellent guide for anyone working with young people for sport or general conditioning.

Youth Strength Training by Avery D Faigenbaum and Wayne L Wescott is published by Human Kinetics ISBN-13 978-0-7360-6792-8

Its a must for anyone who wants their young golfer to develop solid strength fundamentals

To get a generous 20% discount until the 24th December 2010, simply quote R772 at the checkout.

Today is the last day for orders for pre-Christmas delivery to UK addresses, so CLICK HERE TO SHOP DIRECTLY AT THE HUMAN KINETICS WEB SITE

(More than) 25 Christmas Presents for your list

Aim Mate - put your golf on the right line

Physical Golf - an incredible book about making the best of your physical abilities

Technical Golf - superb tips about everything

Go to the gym - you have to have this book?

U18 and want to do strength training?

Golf in Scotland - just a superb book

A golf ball revolution - one you cannot lose