According to many, practicing activities such as weight lifting or body building during adolescence would have negative effects on body growthcausing damage to the hormonal balance and preventing the natural increase in height. These concerns, however, are largely unjustified: there is evidence of negative effects of activities such as weight lifting and high intensity sports on growth, but they go well detailed. Not to mention the many beneficial effects of physical activity on the health of the body and mind.
According to studies carried out on the subject, intense sporting activity can lead to a delayed pubertal developmentfor example by delaying the onset of menarche in girls, only in conditions of caloric deficit, i.e. when the dietary regime is inadequate for the athlete’s energy and nutritional needs. The effect is therefore not attributable to the training itself: in general, no sport done correctly and appropriately stunts the growth of children and adolescents.
What studies say about physical activity and growth
Numerous studies have investigated the mutual influences between growth and physical activity. There is a general consensus in the medical-scientific community regarding the benefits of mild and moderate physical activity for young adolescents, but the matter it gets complicated regarding the effects of high intensity physical activity. According to a widely used definition, high-intensity activity is one that prevents conversation due to the effort expended.
More specifically, high-intensity physical activity associated with a restrictive diet can cause a condition in women reduction in the effectiveness of estrogen action or even a reduction in their production. This alteration of sexual hormones would be the cause of alterations in bone growth capable of affecting the height development and strength of the bone.
Many studies have shown that resistance training, as in body building, has instead notable beneficial effects. In addition to the obvious muscle growth enhancing effects of the growth stimulus added by lifting efforts, they have been observed fewer injuries and improved bone strength. This study also highlighted how crucial both a training regime suited to the athlete’s diet and the guidance of an expert coach are.
Overall then it may have effects on hormonal balance and also on stature and bone development, but the negative effects they only occur if training occurs in athletes with inadequate diet and inadequate training programs.
The importance of training properly
The premise for anyone physical and sporting activity should always be safety in performing exercises and correct nutritionbut these recommendations become imperatives when it comes to high intensity training in young, adolescent athletes. Training programs would not work never improvisedespecially when dealing with resistance training and activities that require great energy expenditure at a critical stage of growth such as puberty or adolescence.
The benefits of physical activity they are multipleboth short and long term, both physical and psychological. However, it has been shown that this type of training carries greater risks if carried out improperly.
Ultimately, high intensity training can be of great benefit to a teenager. but only if you ensure that your training methods and diet are adequate. Therefore high intensity sports should not be avoided in adolescence, as long as the right precautions are taken.
