Unjustified criticism of ‘trained’ body of son Christiano Ronaldo

Geschatte leestijd: 3 minuten Tonight I’ll be discussing the fuss about Cristiano Ronaldo’s son on BNR. We see a boy with a six-pack in a gym. Enough reason to hear the nonsensical accusations again that strength training is bad for children.

Ripped kid

When I was called by the program this afternoon, I had to admit that I hadn’t heard anything about it. Maybe because I never understand what’s supposed to be so special about Cristiano Ronaldo’s body and ignore news about it. I see someone who is just very lean, probably naturally. Like I looked at 18 before I started serious strength training and added some muscle mass to that skinny body. That’s also why I don’t understand the criticism some have about Ronaldo’s son based on the photo. The standard accusations that strength training is not good for children, danger to growth plates, and that kind of nonsense. Apparently, that’s part of being footballer’s sons. Last year, David Beckham’s son received the same criticism when he shared a video of himself on the rowing machine. The criticism now, however, is even less justified. You could still say that little Beckham showed bad technique. But with Ronaldo’s son, it is not even certain that he trains at all. His body is certainly not evidence of that. We see a six-pack, which is only a sign of a low body fat percentage. Something that is not unusual at that age in (untrained) boys. I am speaking from personal experience here. The criticism probably comes from the whole picture; a gym in the background, a kind of most-muscular-pose, and a six-pack. However, there is nothing to suggest that he does strength training, let alone in a bad way and with too high intensity. I see a boy who just goes to the gym with his father and has fun there.

Strength training is not dangerous for children

But even if he were doing serious strength training, that doesn’t necessarily have to be dangerous. For example, when it comes to growth plates, popular sports like soccer seem to offer a higher risk. No one would start talking about that if Ronaldo had shared photos of his son kicking a ball. We extensively address this in an article about alleged risks of strength training for children. In another article, we provide guidelines for strength training for children to minimize potential risks. Remarkably, the guidelines are almost identical to the guidelines for novice adults. Examples include emphasizing good technique and avoiding excessive load. Other important points include realizing what the purpose of the strength training should be. If it’s about supporting another sport, then the strength training should be aimed at that. For example, if Christiano wants to develop the perfect soccer player in his son, explosive strength training could help. At that age, however, I would mainly focus on the basics and technique of the game itself. If developing strength is the ultimate goal, then you have to wonder what that strength is needed for. For a healthy body, there are plenty of sports that can help provide (maintain) sufficient muscle strength and mass. You don’t have to spend four to six times in the gym for that. I’ve been seriously training in the gym for about 20 years now and still haven’t found a way to enjoy it as much as playing baseball and basketball in my youth.

Strength training more dangerous for the child’s brain than for the muscles

But maybe it’s really about muscle mass. Maybe you really want to create a mini He-man like ‘Little Hercules’ we wrote about earlier. I have trouble with that. Because then you are already attaching great importance to physical appearance at a very early age. You are then telling a child that going to the gym several times a week and following a strict diet are necessary for a ‘good’ appearance. It seems unwise to me to be concerned about this at that age. After all, children have the whole puberty to feel insecure about everything about themselves.

Will you listen too?

Around 17:40 we will be discussing this topic on the radio at BNR. Will you listen too?