Research on adults suggests that resistance training increases bone density and helps to prevent certain kinds of injury, but no such effects have yet been documented in children. When training with children is being conducted under conditions that are not climate controlled, special care should be taken. Children have less resistance to short term changes in temperature, and they adjust more slowly to changes in climate. Therefore, this fact should be taken into account in all activities in which children participate. Dietary restrictions are far more problematic in children than in adults.
Children require adequate nutrition for growth and development.
Dietary restrictions in order to remain in certain weight classes are definitely contraindicated. This kind of behavior can undermine the athlete's growth and development and, hence, the athlete's long term potential. It should be noted that the potential for increasing an athlete's muscle mass is never greater than during the athlete's late teens and early twenties. Consequently, artificially restraining increases in muscle mass during this period undermine the fulfillment of the lifter's potential in a way that can never be overcome. It is important for coaches to realize that increases in the height and weight of young athletes during puberty may outrun increases in strength.