TCNJ

31 WINTER 2024 About a dozen years ago, Avery Faigenbaum hopped in his car and hit the road, on a mission to glimpse his life's work in action. His excitement stemmed from an email he'd received from Mike Bukowsky, an elementary school physical education teacher in North Jersey. Bukowsky had created a fitness circuit for his fifth graders, guided by Faigenbaum's research about the importance of strength-building exercises for children. He thought he'd share a short video, in case Faigenbaum was interested. He certainly was. Soon, Faigenbaum was in Westfield, watching the young students arrive for class. There was no hesitation, no dawdling at the door; instead, they flocked to Bukowsky as he tipped a trash can of medicine balls onto the floor. "They pick up the medicine balls, and then they're moving, moving, moving," Faigenbaum says. "I'm like, 'Wow. He did it.'" Strength training typically conjured images of body- builders, not elementary school students. But Faigenbaum, now celebrating his 20th year as a professor of health and exercise science at TCNJ, refuted the long-held idea that strength-building exercises would harm growing children. In fact, his early research had established just the opposite: such training not only increases muscular fitness and fun- damental movement skills in children, but can also improve cardiometabolic health, help manage weight, and increase bone mineral density. In obese children, he discovered that the training could be even more transformational, critically boosting confidence alongside physical gains. As Faigenbaum's studies challenging the myths about the dangers of strength-building activities gained speed, invitations to share his findings began to arrive from scholars around the world. And, the exuberant scene in the gymnasium demonstrated that, most importantly, the science was beginning to reach teachers on the ground. "It was a slow burn of a journey," he says. Today, Faigenbaum's decades-long quest to spotlight the importance of strength training has reshaped the field of pediatric exercise science. "A prerequisite level of muscle strength is needed to move at any age," says Faigenbaum. With strength training, children can use their own body weight as well as medicine balls, dumbbells, and elastic bands. "This type of exercise provides a nice balance between skill and challenge," he says. "As they see themselves get stronger they gain competence and confidence in their physical abilities and, consequently, are more likely to engage in sport activities." Less than a third of children between 6 and 17 years of age meet the recommended guidelines of 60 minutes of physical activity per day. Desultory games of dodgeball and halearted laps around the gym are steadily disappearing as kids hoist small medicine balls, train with heavy ropes, and giddily crab walk with balloons on their stomachs in schools around the world. Faigenbaum's work — once considered controversial — has been cited more than 26,000 times to date, its findings prompting leading health and medical organizations, including the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics, to update child fitness guidelines to include strength training. The International Olympic Committee has even tapped him to consult on its recommendations for youth athletic development. Powerball Avery Faigenbaum shows his strength as a pediatric exercise researcher and policy changer. words Liz Leyden pictures Bill Cardoni

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