Children’s Aerobic Trainability and Related Questions

ABSTRACT

In response to Armstrong’s recent Special Topics review of “Top 10 Research Questions Related to Youth Aerobic Fitness,” this commentary revisits some of the points raised, particularly in relation to the question of whether a child‒adult trainability difference does indeed exist. Discussed are the validity of much of the existing pediatric maximal oxygen consumption data upon which trainability conclusions are drawn, why differential trainability is likely a fact rather than a doubt, a reasoned novel approach to explaining the phenomenon, and how that explanation can bear upon and answer several of the other raised questions. The commentary is intended to inspire and encourage fresh thinking not only in relation to pediatric aerobic trainability, but more generally, regarding pediatric exercise physiology and performance and how they differ from those of adults.

KEYWORDS:

• Activation deficit
• differential activation
• functional motor-unit pool
• muscle composition
• VO₂ kinetics