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When doing strength training with youth athletes ages 9 to 14 what is the ideal strength building protocol? Upper body one day, lower another and core another? Push one day upper and lower, pull upper and lower another and core on a separate day? Alternating upper, lower and core on the same day using 7 to 9 different exercises to target each area of the body in one session? And I talking about maximal strength training and then power development separately from circuit training for muscle endurance.

Can you or should you not do circuit type training for strength instead of endurance/general fitness if you use a high enough load with long enough rests between the stations? If each station alternated between upper and lower body excises would you still need to rest and do nothing for 3 minutes between stations/sets?

We typically spend 30 minutes on only strength in every 3.5 to 4.0 hour practice. We also do some skill specific strength at various points through out the rest of practice including interval training on some days and plyometrics on other days right after our dynamic warm-up and dynamic stretch at the beginning of practice, depending on the phase of training (time of the training year) we are in. We do some skill specific strength during the warm-up as well. I have used all of these ideas over the last 18 years and I know the experts differ and often change their minds. I am still trying to work on getting my mind be ok with the maximal strength building protocol that calls for a three minute rest between sets to allow for better efforts at heavier loads and avoid body building hypertrophy loads and shorter rests. You see in our sport, no matter what your age, we can not afford to build muscle mass in any large muscle group do to the adverse effects of extra weight with out getting a much much larger gain in strength to overly compensate. I know that children are less likely to see large gains in hypertrophy but each athlete is different and the science involving strength training youth is far less developed and thus understood than it is in adults. Even in adults the experts are always saying this is what is happening and then going back and saying wait that is not it, we know something is happening but we don't know what it is. Like with the lactate acid threshold causing total muscle failure turned out not to be true, at least not by it self.

But that does bring up another question? Should I be concerned with how hypertrophy training protocols can effect muscle size in children? I know how to deal with male athletes as they enter and progress through puberty but what about female child athletes?

I have groups of athletes that practice 3 to 5 times a week for 10 to 20 hours a week. These athletes often practice together though they are in different levels and in one case a different league. Some practice 3 days, some go 4 and some go 5 days a week. These athletes practice year round and in case you are wondering they are female gymnasts.