Work

Differentiating maturational influence on training‐induced strength and endurance adaptations in prepubescent children

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effect of biological maturation on training-induced strength and endurance adaptations in the prepubertal growth spurt. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-five healthy children (58 boys, 67 girls), aged 10-11 years old (10.8 ± 0.4 years), who were self-assessed as belonging to Tanner stages I and II, were randomly divided into two experimental groups, a strength training group (19 boys, 22 girls) and an endurance training group (21 boys, 24 girls) that would train twice a week for 8 weeks, as well as a control group (18 boys, 21 girls; no training program). RESULTS: After 8 weeks of training, there were improvements in all strength and endurance measures (P < 0.01) for both groups of Tanner stage I and II children. No significant differences in training response were observed relative to biological maturity or gender (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that more biologically mature prepubescent children seem to have no advantage in training-induced strength and endurance adaptations compared with their less mature peers. Additionally, gender did not affect the training-induced changes in strength or aerobic fitness. These results are meaningful for the development of optimized well-rounded training programs in prepubertal children. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 26:469-475, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Source: American Journal of Human Biology

DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.22549

Authors: Carlos C. Marta, Daniel A. Marinho, Mikel Izquierdo, Mário C. Marques

Institutions: Universidade Politécnica da Guarda, University of Beira Interior, Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA)

Language: English

Topic: Sports Performance and Training

Subfield: Orthopedics and Sports Medicine

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia