The World’s Strongest Ten Year Old, But at What Cost?

All of us have probably seen Giuliano Stroe grace our screens in one form of another at some stage in the last few years, whether is was on social media, his You Tube channel or television. He has certainly been flooding my newsfeed today. He is the strongest ten year old in the world and holds world records for several feats of strength in his age group, but at what cost to him?

[sahmgallery]

Giuliano has been doing bodybuilding style training since he was two years old, yes that’s right TWO YEARS OLD! His bodybuilding fanatic father was taking him to the gym and putting him through his paces, rigorously at only two years old.

I am certainly not against exercise for kids, my son will be doing lots of it, but children this young should not be bodybuilding.

I’m also not against strength and resistance training for kids, as a personal trainer myself I definitely see the value in it, if it is with a proper trainer in a controlled environment and is appropriate to their physical development.

Lots of people think children should not be touching any form of weight training until they are at least sixteen but this is just not the case. A simple, appropriate strength training routine can do wonders for kids as young as six or seven and helps with flexibility, mobility, injury prevention and improving sporting performance but these programs are not designed to build muscle bulk like bodybuilders.

Growing bones need to be treated properly to develop the best they can, strength training and sport are great for this as they encourages good bone density and strengthen attachments between muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones. The pressure put on these growing bones when training like a body builder can potentially damage connective tissue and growth plates leading to severe injuries and longterm issues in adult life. Quite the opposite of the effect you would hope for from your children’s sport.

Guiliano and his little brother Claudiu who are now ten and eight years old are both training for a minimum of two hours daily to maintain the physiques that their father is trying so desperately to make money from. In one interview in 2010 he was quoted as saying he can have the boys “more pumped up in three weeks for a performance, if the price is right”. On their youtube channel you will find many videos of the boys doing some amazing things that most adults will never be capable of, but at what expense to them both?

In the photos the boys seem happy enough and this is some people’s argument, but I wonder if they know any different? Have they spent afternoons playing outside in the sunshine, chasing bugs around the garden because they have nothing more important to do? Have they climbed trees or played sport, or do they just see the inside of the gym all the time? Are they really happy or is it all an act for the cameras?

As a personal trainer it frightens me, as a mum it just makes me sad.

How do you feel about it? Would you ever encourage your kids to train to such an elite level like that, so early?