MONDAY, Oct. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Resistance training can lead to significantly increased muscular strength in children, but the biggest effect is seen in those who are more physically mature, train longer, and perform more sets, according to research published online Oct. 25 in Pediatrics.
Michael Behringer, M.D., of the German Sport University Cologne, and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis to examine the effects of resistance training on children of different age groups and maturity levels.
After statistical analysis of both randomized and nonrandomized controlled trials, the researchers found that the weighted effect size of resistance training for children under 18 was 1.12, which was significantly greater than zero. Muscular strength gains increased with age and maturity but did not rapidly increase at the onset of puberty. The duration of resistance training as well as the number of sets performed were positively associated with gains in strength.
"The results of our meta-analysis suggest that trainability of muscular strength increases slightly with age and that maturity seems to be an important predictor of the training outcome," the authors write. "We found that a greater number of training sessions per week is associated with higher strength gains after resistance training and that long-term interventions are more beneficial than short ones."
Abstract
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