Youth and Elderly Training Program Considerations, Similarities, and Differences

Training youth and training elderly athletes can hold some similarities, for instance bone density is important for both, as well as neuromuscular function, motor control, and cognitive reasoning. However, we usually treat these athletes very differently due to health concerns of high blood pressure, cardiovascular strength, bone health, muscular strength, and health history. For children, the focus has been of impact training, musculoskeletal strength, and cardiovascular ability (Powers & Howley, 2018). In addition, care must be taken to train around growth plates, cartilage formation, and growth spurts in general, as a child’s proprioception may change. In elderly athletes, precautions are more often seen training back from heart surgery in need of increased cardiovascular fitness, or managing weight, balance, chronic disease, or strength. Looking at the benefits of each, we will lay out a helpful guideline and results for a training program taking into account both athletes’ considerations.

Youth Training

Neuromuscular control of the body is important in regulating balance and maintaining posture during movement and static motions (Sundstrup et al., 2010). Both visual and somatosensory systems help to establish proprioception in young athletes which allows them to have awareness of their body and leads to agility and faster movement. Behm (2018) references the idea that children are no longer privy to playing outside to gain neuromuscular control, but instead are pressured to train at a high intensity in one sport, potentially delaying skill and coordination because of lack of exposure to other skills needed for injury prevention. In addition, resistance training has been shown to increase muscular strength needed to execute skill and athletic ability but often is overlooked during youth years (Faigenbaum, 2018). Furthermore, Naughton, Greene, Courteix, and Baxter-Jones (2017) claim that weightbearing activities or impact training is beneficial in bone density of children comparatively with sedentary youth. Within the following table (1.1) is an example week of a youth training program.

Table 1.1

Special Considerations with Youth Athletes

            Powers and Howley state that a great concern in youth training resides around the ongoing growth of a child and potential risks due to vulnerability in mechanical injury (2018). However, there has not been any evidence to prove that training is harmful to bone growth. Overuse physeal (growth plate) injuries can occur if athletes are unsupervised, leading to pain on the anterior surface of the tibia, knee, or humerus. Training volume, rest, and growth can all be leading factors in injury (Arnold, Thigpen, Beattie, Kissenberth, & Shanley, 2017). In some cases, Osgood-Slatter can develop on the patella and inflame the patellar tendon if training intensity is too heavy for too long (Arnold et al., 2017). Other considerations include asthma, muscular disorders and bone structure. This provides excellent context for us as trainers to allow for variable changes as the skill and strength of athletes change with growth.

Elderly Training

            When training elderly athletes or patients there are a few more concerns to address as far as prevention and health. Cardiovascular and pulmonary health is still very important in addition to fall prevention, bone density, motor control, cognitive thinking, and management of diseases. Loss of bone mass, muscle mass, strength and motor control are inevitable during aging, but can be slowed through proper uses of exercise (Powers & Howley, 2018). In the following table (1.2) a few exercise suggestions and effects will be discussed in a one-week example training guide.

Table 1.2

Special Considerations in Elderly training

            Type II diabetes is associated with hypertension, obesity, high cholesterol, and sedentary behavior (Powers & Howley, 2018). Because obesity is a common link to the cause of onset, often times exercise is prescribed to combat symptoms and characteristics. Laursen, Frolich, and Christensen (2017) found positive interactions or social interactions made the exercise and diet change more enjoyable, which may be why some individuals struggle to make these changes alone. Furthermore, moderate exercise should be the highest level of intensity given their hypertension, and that activity of at least four times a week may be necessary to help maintenance of weight loss and increase insulin sensitivity (Powers & Howley, 2018). Understanding that the goal is to improve health and movement rather than hinder it, is key to training geriatric demographics.

Although youth and elderly individuals vary in many degrees, the amount of careful consideration for each athlete must be serious. Each person responds to exercise differently, making observation of effective programs necessary and helpful to monitor the individual’s progress. Lastly, be sure that as the individual changes, the program changes with them.

Here at FRF we take the time to create personalized 1-on-1 programs to fit every individual or teams needs. Reach out with any questions or concerns that might be linked to todays topic! Kelsey and Emilie love to chat!