Dangerous for youngsters to do press ups.

Apparently a “sports specialist” in a school thinks its dangerous for kids to do pressups.  But I’ve heard a lot of people wonder if they should let their little Johnny do any kind of strength training in case its damaging to a body that is not yet fully developed.

And I reckon that is a perfectly rational worry for parents to have.  Little Jemima Junior is the light of their life and they understandably don’t want to do things that may hurt or snap them.  And that is why people like me and “sport specialists” are around to help them along.

But it does piss me off a bit when these “sport specialists” actively encourage little Rupert to do things like football and tennis where there are high risks of high speed, high impact collisions with other sproggs, posts, balls and the floor (and I’m certainly not discouraging these!  The more scrapes and bumps a kid gets the better)…but then thinks that “moving our own body in a smooth, controled and slow way” is faaaaaar too deadly for little Quentin!

Evolution gave us a body and a brain…so why not use them both (including sport specialists in school!)

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/121/4/835.full

http://www.ausport.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/145971/Article_weight_training_preadolescent_strength_training_Narelle_Sibte.pdf

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/tween-and-teen-health/in-depth/strength-training/art-20047758

http://kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_center/staying_fit/strength_training.html