A recently published British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences position statement for resistance exercise with young people (Stratton et al, Journal of Sports Sciences, 2004, 22, 383-390), provides the following two key guidelines to resistance exercise with young people:

1. All young people should be encouraged to participate in safe and effective resistance exercise at least twice a week.

2. Resistance exercise should be part of a balanced exercise and physical education programme.

Basically these recommendations indicate that programmes that are well designed, supervised and taught have both positive health and educational benefits to young people. Resistance exercise with children has gained acceptance because providing the programmes are developmentally appropriate, there may be strength gains, the enhancement of bone development and the reduction of injury risk in other sporting activities.

When part of a balanced activity programme, resistance exercise can be positive. Professionals who understand the key principles of child growth and development should adequately screen and supervise participants. When these conditions are met, then the combination of low risk of injury and positive physiological and sociological benefits can promote health and performance in all groups.

Powerbag training can be of positive benefit to young people who are following a resistance exercise programme. As a training tool Powerbag provides a valuable resource, as many of the concerns of working with children are resolved through the use of Powerbag. Typical issues such as dropping weights, impact injuries, damage to floors, concerns with working with groups of children and other health and safety issues are largely redundant due to the soft construction of Powerbag. This also means that Powerbag training in groups can be carried out by suitably trained instructors. Other problems such as the need to have a specialist area for lifting are resolved as Powerbag training can be carried out on almost any flat surface.

It seems clear that the development of resistance exercise sessions with young people has some responsibility attached to it to ensure that the governing principles are met. It is also clear from these recommendations that resistance exercise with young people is an important part of their development and of their exercise and physical education programme. It is also clear that when used appropriately and within these guidelines that Powerbags can provide an excellent tool for the provision of these sessions.

At Performance Technology we are finding that Powerbag based resistance exercise is very well received within schools, we have worked closely with a Sports Mark Gold school to ensure that the recommendations made for Powerbag exercise with young people are both developmentally appropriate and are complementary to the national curriculum. We have developed a manual specifically aimed at schools and organisations keen on developing resistance exercise programmes with young people. If you would like further information about Powerbag based resistance exercise with young people please contact us.