Stemming Childhood Obesity With Hydraulic Exercise Circuits 2

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Stemming Childhood Obesity With Hydraulic Exercise Circuits…Continued

Strength Training Is Endorsed By The American Academy of Pediatrics

It is only recently that strength training was discovered to be beneficial to kids, previously it was actually thought to be harmful (just as it was back in the day when Jack LaLanne was spreading the word about the benefits of strength training for adults).

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American College of Sports Medicine, and the National Strength and Conditioning Association all support strength training for kids - if it's done properly.

According to the AAP, the positive effects of strength training include, but are not limited to, increased bone density, improved joint stabilization, increased self-esteem, injury prevention, and an improved self body-image.

Hydraulic resistance training for kids - not to be confused with weightlifting, bodybuilding or power lifting - is a carefully designed program of exercises to increase muscle strength, muscle endurance, and aerobic capacity.

Weightlifting, bodybuilding and power lifting are largely driven by competition, with participants vying to lift heavier weights and build bigger muscles. This can put too much strain on young muscles, tendons and growth plates.

Hydraulic strength training for kids, conversely, isn't about lifting heavy weights. Instead, the focus is on pushing and pulling against an invisible resistance piston, with proper form, and at their own level. The emphasis is more on muscular exercise and endurance and not bulking up.

There is additional early evidence that girls who incorporate resistance training during their formidable growth years will improve the lifelong density of their bones. This will be immeasurable in mitigating osteoporosis when they reache middle age.

Also according to the AAP, "Aerobic conditioning should be coupled with resistance training if general health benefits are the goal… and should address all major muscle groups and exercise through the complete range of motion. " This is exactly what hydraulic exercise progrms provide.

The Right Kind of Exercise for Kids

When you go to a standard health club you will typically see weight stack machines. These are selectorized machines where you use a pin to set the weight level, a pully lifts the weight stack up and down. Resistance is provided by gravity working against the weights.

Some manufacturers have scaled down their weight stack machines for kids, but there are some safety concerns. There is an obvious pinch point of the weights slamming down on fingers. And for the older children there is the comparison game of who is stronger than who.

In contrast, hydraulic equipment utilizes hidden piston resistance. The piston pushes back in direct proportion to the effort applied by the user. It is much like moving your body through water, the faster you push, the more resistance you encounter.

The beauty of hydraulic machines is that they work two opposing sets of muscles, one group when you push against the machine, and another group when you pull it back. This way, more muscle is exercised in a shorter time with a much higher calorie burn than weights.

According to John Porcari, an Exercise And Sport Science Professor at the University of Wisconsin, in a study conducted on behalf of American College of Exercise (ACE), a 130 lb. person burns approximately 185 calories in a 30-min hydraulic circuit. So, kids burn off calories while they are exercising their muscles.

Safety First For Our Children

Another attraction to parents is that hydraulic resistance is very safe. The machines are engineered so that they are properly sized for kids, there are no seat adjustments to tamper with, the resistance mechanism is inside an enclosed piston cylinder. Although there are moving parts, there are no risky pinch points.

Shapes for Women kids curl-tricep machine. The beauty of hydraulic resistance is that kids work the muscles in both directions, once when they pull, and then again when they push it back, twice the workout.

The kids' bodies are in perfect alignment while they are performing the intended exercise. They push and then pull through the entire range of motion and exercise two countervailing sets of muscles. In fact, by using a steady continuous fluid motion, it is virtually impossible to over-strain.

Minimum Time For Maximum Benefit

Today, the technology of designing and fabricating exercise machines that give maximum benefit in the least amount of time is a reality -- witness the women's 30-minutes workout boom.

There is a reason why 30 minutes appears to be the magical amount of time. Adults are just too busy to commit more time than that a couple times a week. The same would hold true for children. They also have much shorter attention spans, so the exercise session has to be quick, it has to be engaging, and it has to be effective.

The good news is, 30 minutes is all that is needed for kids to get fit. According to the AAP, "To achieve gains in strength, workouts need to be at least 20 -- 30 minutes long, take place a minimum of 2 to 3 times per week…There is no additional benefit to strength training more than 4 times per week."

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