The improvement of muscle strength in adolescents requires strengthening strength training, but adolescents are in the stage of rapid physiological development, and blind training is easy to cause injury. In this issue, we provide professional guidance for adolescent strength training based on the characteristics of adolescent nutritional needs, scientific sports training principles, and nutritional supplementation plans during exercise.

Strength training for adolescents follows the principle of adaptability

Adolescents aged 12~18 are at the second peak of growth, and the particularity of physiological development determines that their strength training needs to follow the principle of adaptability, and nutritional support should focus on growth priority and training assistance.

Youth strength training needs to break out of the adult mode and aim for safety and long-term effectiveness. Adolescent bone development is not yet mature, and bone density and bone toughness are lower than those of adults. Therefore, strength training should follow the principle of load adaptation, on the premise of not compressing bone growth, give priority to bodyweight or light load, and avoid weight-bearing training that exceeds 1.2 times your own body weight.

Before carrying out systematic strength training, adolescents should carry out 2~4 weeks of basic adaptation period training, the core is to improve physical function, and do not rush to carry out weight-bearing training. For example, when performing core strength training such as lifting the waist and abdomen, if the body lacks stability, it is easy to lead to action compensation.

While doing strength training, teenagers can train their neuromuscular control skills through skipping rope and agile ladders. Stretch before and after each training session (mainly legs and shoulders) to maintain joint mobility and improve coordination and flexibility at the same time.

After transitioning to the systematic training stage, you should also focus on your own weight or light load to avoid compressing the bones due to excessive load. Frequent training can easily lead to excessive fatigue, and the training interval should be at least 1 day to give the muscles and bones sufficient recovery time. Prioritize compound movements (such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses, etc.) and reduce single-joint isolated movements (such as bicep curls) to avoid local muscle overload, resulting in uneven development. Once the movement is deformed, the load should be reduced immediately or training should be suspended to avoid joint damage caused by compensation.

Nutritional support during exercise follows three principles

Adolescent nutritional support should strengthen "training and adaptation nutrition" on the basis of good growth and development, and the core should follow three principles.

Protein priority principle

Protein is the core raw material for muscle repair and growth, the average teenager needs 1.2~1.4 g/kg of body weight per day, while strength trainers need to increase to 1.6~2.0 g/kg, and high-quality protein (eggs, milk, chicken breast, etc.) needs to account for more than 70% to ensure that essential amino acids (such as leucine) are sufficient. Leucine directly activates muscle synthesis pathways, and its deficiency can lead to decreased muscle repair efficiency after training.

Principles of bone nutrition fortification

Calcium and vitamin D are the "golden partners" of bone health, and a deficiency of the two can increase the risk of bone damage by 3 times, affecting the safety of strength training. Adolescents need to consume 1200~1500 mg of calcium (about 500 ml of milk + 1 serving of soy products) and 10 micrograms of vitamin D (about 20 minutes of sun exposure + 1 egg yolk every day), and strengthen outdoor exercise.

The principle of energy balance

Adolescents who do strength training should pay attention to the fact that carbohydrates need to account for 55%~65% of the total daily calories to provide energy for training, and at the same time control the total calories to avoid excess calories leading to obesity. Monitor your weight weekly, and if you gain more than 0.5 kg, reduce your intake of refined carbohydrates (such as white rice, desserts) and give preference to whole grains (such as oats, brown rice).

Nutrition plan for scientific muscle building for teenagers

The key to muscle gain in adolescents is "nutrition and training", and target nutrition plans should be formulated around training methods and different training periods.

Before training: reserve energy and prevent fatigue

1~2 hours before training, you need to consume easily digestible carbohydrates + a small amount of protein to supply energy for training, and insufficient blood sugar before training will reduce exercise performance by 30%, which directly affects the intensity of training.

During training: Replenish energy and delay fatigue

If the training duration is long (such as strength circuit training for more than 1 hour), sports drinks rich in energy, amino acids, B vitamins and electrolytes should be supplemented in time to ensure the continuous supply of energy during training, and at the same time deal with minor injuries to muscle fibers in strength training (especially after compound movements such as squats and deadlifts).

After training: seize the golden window to speed up repair

30 minutes to 1 hour after training is the golden period for muscle repair, protein + fast carbs should be supplemented.

Additional meals: make up for the lack of regular meals and stabilize the nutritional supply

Teenagers have heavy learning tasks and long meal intervals, and it is advocated to supplement nutrition through 2~3 additional meals.