Athletes who are stronger have a competitive advantage. Children who have high relative body strength are typically faster, more physical, and more capable of absorbing contact than those who aren’t strong. They almost always will look like the better athlete next to a child who doesn’t do strength training of any kind.
Strength can be formed in a formal, gym setting or in a more natural setting. So whether you’re lifting weights or climbing trees and carrying bales of hay, you need to get strong.
Now, what does “strong” mean, exactly? That depends on an athlete's age and goals. It’s also not an exact science: some coaches in the exercise science world have different opinions of what strong means, and what constitutes “strong enough.” Let’s define the minimum effective dose.
High School Athletes
Let’s start in high school because it’s the most interesting to define. High school athletes typically range anywhere from just learning how to use a barbell to squatting and deadlifting 300-400 lbs. That’s quite the difference in strength, and therefore, often, a major difference in ability.
All athletes in high school should be able to strength train with a barbell. Just starting and making linear progress is a requirement to be in the game. But making a major impact is another story. Let’s break these numbers down into “Strong enough to play” vs. “Strong enough that you probably don’t have to work too much more on strength.
Exercise: Strong enough to play: Strong enough to dominate:
Squat: 1x Bodyweight 2x Bodyweight
Bench: 1x Bodyweight 1.5x Bodyweight
Deadlift: 1.5x Bodyweight 2-2.25x Bodyweight
Chin-up: 10 reps 10 reps with 20-25% Bodyweight
These numbers can vary a little bit for male vs. female athletes, especially for upper body lifts. For example, 5 reps of chin-ups is great, and 10 reps would be dominant for female athletes. But if you want to be a serious high school athlete and potentially play college sports, these are numbers you can work for over time to stand out from the competition.
Middle School Athletes
Athletes from 12-14 are in the phase where they can start to lift some actual weight. This stage is a bit harder to define than both the High School and Elementary athletes because puberty makes children in vastly different phases of development.
The most important aspect is maintaining proper technique while improving steadily in the weight they can use. When the weight goes up, they should be able to keep the same technique fairly quickly.
I have seen middle school athletes work up over time to a 1x bodyweight trap bar deadlift, 20+ pushups (with great form and control), and 10 chin-ups. These are great numbers, and can set up their strength training success for once they get to high school. Laying some strength on top of a foundation of proper movement is the key to this phase.
Elementary-Aged Athletes
Body control is what you’re trying to teach Jump Start athletes.
Children younger than 12 should be able to perform basic, compound movements, such as a squat, a lunge, a pushup, and some type of flexed-arm-hang or pull-to-hold exercise. They should be able to do those exercises under control and with good technique. This would make them strong enough at this age.
Once they can do these things, strong means that they can perform a squat or lunge with good form with around 10, maybe even 15lbs of weight. It means they can do around 10 pushups. And if they can do a chin-up, they are more advanced than 95% of athletes that age.
What comes after my child is strong?
While your child is building strength with Parisi or anywhere, they should be working on additional power, core, and body control movements.
We use various power movements, such as jumps and medicine ball throws. We challenge an athlete’s stability and body control with things like tidal tank water training bags and loaded movement training sticks. These cause the athlete to be able to transfer the strength they have built into real life movements that they may perform on the field or court.
If your athlete can hit any of the advanced numbers above, and you’re looking for the next stage of their development, you should schedule a performance evaluation with us and see how we can help them utilize that strength to become an even better athlete. Check back soon for a blog post and explanation on these next level training modalities!
