It is important that our youth—children and adolescents—be
exposed to a variety of activities that enhance all the
components of physical fitness. One key fitness component is the
development of muscular strength and endurance. Thus, youth
participation in a well-supervised resistance training program
becomes crucial in order to meet such a goal. For the purpose of
this article, the term “children” will refer to pre-adolescent
boys and girls (up to approximately the age of 12) and the term
“adolescent” will include boys and girls between 13 and 18 years
of age. The term “youth” will include both children and
adolescents. The Benefits of Resistance Training Research
studies strongly suggest that resistance training for youth
brings positive benefits. It has been found that most children
who adhere to a well-supervised, progressive resistance training
program can safely increase their strength and improve their
athletic performance. In a meta-analysis of 28 studies on the
effectiveness of resistance training in