CrossFit Kids is the principal strength and conditioning program for many young athletes and the primary P.E. program for many home schools, charter schools. It is used by athletic teams, martial arts schools and many parents that want their kids to grow up healthy, strong and have a life long love of working out thus avoiding the common problems associated with childhood inactivity and obesity.
Our program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. Our specialty is not specializing. Healthy living requires that our kids push, pull, run, throw, climb, lift, jump, effectively and safely regardless of whether or not they play athletics. Athletics is a specialized pursuit. Our goal is to support the specialist, but reward the generalist.

The CrossFit Kids program is designed for universal scalability making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience. We’ve used our same routines for 4 year olds and elite high school athletes. We scale load and intensity; we don’t change programs. The needs of our second graders and our high school wrestler differ by degree not kind. - CrossFit Kids LLC

Sara Fleming, BA, MS, ISSA Certified Fitness Trainer

It has become more widely accepted that individuals can and should stay active well into their later years and by that, we mean their seventh and even eight decades.  The question that remains in a lot of people’s minds then becomes, what sort of activity is most beneficial for older individuals to engage in that will give them the most physical benefit and also improve their quality of life?  Ideally, it should be fun, improve daily function and mobility, increase bone density, and decrease disability.

Sara Fleming is a Certified Fitness Trainer.

What exercise method could possibly encompass all of these benefits?  Why resistance training, of course.  And now, older folks are not just limited to regular old constant velocity resistance training; researchers are now concluding that power training may be superior for enhancing physical well-being and quality of life in older adults.

A study recently published by the Department of health and Exercise Science at Wake Forest University concluded that high velocity power training had many benefits that went above and beyond those of traditional strength training programs for older individuals.  These benefits included not only increases in strength and mobility, but self-reported increases in self-efficacy, satisfaction with daily living, and quality of life.

The benefits of power training over traditional strength training have been investigated regarding the effect on bone loss in post menopausal women as well.  The conclusions have shown that power training is at least, if not more, effective at preventing bone mineral density loss.  Power training was not found to be additionally stressful or painful as compared to the traditional resistance training.

So, what exactly is power training?

Power training, as described in most of the studies cited for this article, differs from traditional weightlifting simply in the speed with which the weight is lifted.  With traditional weightlifting, the weight is lifted and lowered at a constant speed.  With power training, the weight is lifted at a much faster rate than it is lowered.  This faster rate of lifting creates more force and for the muscle, has the effect of lifting a heavier weight.  Creating more force recruits more muscle fibers and puts more positive stress on the bones and tendons.  Stress on the bones and tendons is a good thing in that it causes the bones and tendons to remodel themselves to become stronger in order to handle a heavier load.  All of this is done without lifting a heavier weight.  It is the same weight, just lifted faster.

For all fitness participants, specialized training such as power training must be adapted for with foundational training to develop a baseline of strength and conditioning.  For older adults, this period of adaptation is especially important to avoid injury, maintain independence, and gain strength.  Working with a qualified trainer is a safe way to develop this foundational strength and create a power training program for use in the home or gym.

References
Katula JA, Rejeski WJ, Marsh AP.  Enhancing quality of life in older adults: A comparison of muscular strength and power training  Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2008 Jun 13;6:45.

Miszko TA, Cress ME, Slade JM, Covey CJ, Agrawal SK, Doerr CE Effect of strength and power training on physical function in community-dwelling older adults.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2003 Feb;58(2):171-5.

von Stengel S, Kemmler W, Kalender WA, Engelke K, Lauber D Differential effects of strength versus power training on bone mineral density in postmenopausal women: a 2-year longitudinal study Br J Sports Med. 2007 Oct;41(10):649-55.