Teens train with SRU program
SLIPPERY ROCK — The exercise area in Slippery Rock University's Aebersold Recreation Center is usually filled with college students or residents seeking to stay in shape. But sometimes teenagers have the same goal.
To help them, Brian Mortimer directs the Rock Fit group for ages 12 to 17.
Mortimer of Butler, who is the coordinator of Wellness/Russell Wright Fitness Center, has run the group for five years. The year-round program has students exercising twice a week.
"The Russell Wright Fitness Center has an age requirement," he said. "You must be 16 years of age to come in. (But) we wanted to find the opportunity for the younger kids to utilize the facility."
Mortimer, 37, said the program's goal is to develop muscle tissue, decrease the percentage of body fat, and increase self-esteem and body image.
It includes boys and girls.
"Before puberty, young girls are just as strong as young boys, and they respond exactly the same," Mortimer said. "There is no difference."
But he said after puberty, testosterone in boys causes muscle growth and creates a huge difference between genders.
He said the major concern with teenagers weightlifting is growth cartilage damage, and he doesn't train teenagers with maximum or near maximum training until after they are 14 years old.
"The experts tell you not to do maximum or near maximum training with weights around puberty because (the adolescents are) growing so fast that they could develop stress fractures," he said.
"The bones don't have time to solidify because they're moving so fast. If you train kids too hard, too early, that's one thing you have to be cautious about."
Patricia Gibbons, 44, of Prospect was a parent who considered this fact when the option for her children to weight lift became available.
"I'm a type of person who does a lot of research," she said. "Initially, (cartilage damage) was a pretty big worry of mine, and I really questioned the workers at the ARC and how they handled things."
But Gibbons said after she spoke with Mortimer and learned his rules about teen weightlifting, she had confidence in the trainers.
She said her two sons, Russ, 12, and Brad, 15, became interested in the program after she started weightlifting in November.
"In the world that we live in today, the medical advances we have are such that we're living longer and longer," Gibbons said. "And if I'm going to live that long, I don't want to be 100 years old and in poor shape."
She said her family has a six-month pass at the ARC, and Russ and Brad got involved with the Teen Fit program in January, thinking it would be fun and interesting to try.She said it provided her with good motivation for her own training because she would drive them to school and then go across the street to the ARC."Russ shares my concerns with being in good physical condition," Gibbons said. "I think Brad does it more because he feels it's the right thing to do and not because he likes it. And they love the people up there, too, because the student trainers make them feel like they're really good kids."Russ said he joined the program to keep in shape for football season."I kept telling myself I would start training in off-season," he said. "I enjoy it. It's just that I have to stop for the football season because I won't have time to (continue weightlifting) because of football and school."Russ said he also enjoys it because it keeps him in shape and because a friend is part of the group. He said they've learned a lot about how muscles and joints work and which muscles do what.Mortimer said communication between an instructor and a student is a big part of the process, whether a repetition is too easy, too hard or if the student is experiencing pain."As long as I've been training," he said, "my No. 1 rule of thumb is no joint pain as long as you tell the difference between muscle fatigue and growth. Don't ever work through joint pain."But Mortimer said anaerobic metabolism is good when the muscles start to burn and fill with blood. If the pain is around the knees or elbows, then it's joint pain."I don't want them leaving here with their joints aching. That defeats the purpose. There's always a way to work a muscle while eliminating or minimizing joint pain," he said.Mortimer said he sees a trend in mostly 12- to 15-year-olds being interested in the program, and that most of them are in athletics and want to continue to play sports, like Russ. But he said some participants just want the activity and have an interest in the fitness center.Attending Rock Fit, he said, is a way to provide them with a different setting to reach their goals.
