As part of football conditioning, my husband has my 13 year old son wearing 5 lb. ankle weights while he runs stairs, walks with high knee raises, and lunges horizontally back and forth across the field.
Is this safe?
Stacy,NO, NO, NO! I can’t tell you the problems your son’s knees are in for if he keeps this up! None of the elite conditioning programs even have their young athletes run stairs anymore (for several reasons), nor do they encourage the wearing of ankle weights. These things were popular 15-20 years ago, but all the accidents (from falling on the stairs) and injuries (especially the tendonitis ones) lead to their downfall. There are lots of safe ways to help condition your son, but these are not them. If your husband has any doubts about this, ask him to contact any Pediatric Othhopedist, PT, or Certified Athletic Trainer, for their opinions. Please let us know what your husband says.
1 Comment found
May PT
Stacy,NO, NO, NO! I can’t tell you the problems your son’s knees are in for if he keeps this up! None of the elite conditioning programs even have their young athletes run stairs anymore (for several reasons), nor do they encourage the wearing of ankle weights. These things were popular 15-20 years ago, but all the accidents (from falling on the stairs) and injuries (especially the tendonitis ones) lead to their downfall. There are lots of safe ways to help condition your son, but these are not them. If your husband has any doubts about this, ask him to contact any Pediatric Othhopedist, PT, or Certified Athletic Trainer, for their opinions. Please let us know what your husband says.