10-year-old Crossfitter lifts weight greater than her body; child can?

At just 10 years old and weighing 33 kg, little Julia Assunção, from São Luís (MA), has been successful on social media as a young crossfiteira “without limits”. The video in which she appears lifting 39 kg, more than her body weight, has already surprised more than 8 million people on social networks and, if it depends on her, the future will still have many brands to beat.

The girl has been doing physical activities since she was 2 and a half years old. She started in jiu-jitsu, changed to swimming, got to do functional training “kids” until she got to know crossfit at the age of 5 through her aunt, who is a physical education teacher.

“She loves to train, she only needs it as a last resort”, says her mother Erica Silva, 40. She says that, since she was born, Julia has had the same pediatric follow-up and currently also has a physical therapist and nutritionist. “They follow closely”, she guarantees.

In one of the daughter’s most famous videos, she appears carrying weight greater than her body with the support of her aunt and trainer. The content published on September 29 has, so far, 8.7 million views and more than 780,000 likes.

“I don’t even carry 20 kg”, comments a follower. “Humiliated me in 500 ways,” adds another.

I love training. It’s definitely the best time of day. Some exercises are easy and some are difficult, but the adrenaline is always high. I really enjoy training with the kids, because it’s fun. But training with adults challenges me.
Julia Assunção, child athlete

After all, can kids train at that age?

“The answer is simple. Yes, it is possible to do these workouts, as long as it is supervised and properly — and performing resistive training has no impact on growth”, says Pedro Henrique Tsuyoshi Yamaokapediatrician specializing in adolescent medicine.

He points out that children before puberty gain muscle strength at the expense of neuromuscular memory and that, before puberty, there is usually no muscle hypertrophy, that is, the increase in muscles and constitutive fibers. “So there may be a disproportion between the person’s actual weight and the force they exert.

According to him, at first, it is necessary to respect the training schedule, since the evidence of injuries is related to excessive training and lack of rest. “If the training is supervised, the weight limit is defined by each one’s personal limits”, he points out. The doctor also warns of the risks of exercise, explaining that “if performed in an untimely manner, without adequate preparation and specialized supervision, physical activity can result in injuries to children of any age”.

Necessary care that parents should be aware of if their children engage in intense exercise include nutrition — including meeting their daily protein needs, herelcio, among others — and moderating the evolution of training. “Só remember that the more physical activity, the greater the needs calories and protein”.

With the growth of children at this age, the doctor explains that “the body grows first, then the musculature”, which can lead to injuries if the limits of increased load in training are not respected. “Resistive exercises have to be stimulated for the good formation of bones. So, she needs exercises with load. In general, it is recommended that she respects about 20% of the maximum load [no aumento de intensidade] — and each one will have a different maximum load depending on the training stage.”

professional routine

Julia trains from Monday to Friday. On Saturdays, when she is close to a competition, training is specific. Before, she only trained with children, but now she also practices with adults. That’s because she also competes. Recently, for example, she participated in a crossfit competition in São Luis with adults and has already participated in weightlifting championships. Olympic.

The physical educator post-graduated in strength training from health to high performance Danilo Luís Zacarias da Silva says that, around 3 years old, it is possible to introduce the child to crossfit. In other sports such as swimming, the start can be earlier, with a few months.

The professional says that, as Assunção trains with help and supervision, it is unlikely that there is an injury. “She trained the technique and the base of the movement and then she was putting weight to improve the exercise even more, so it’s correct. The more weight, the better. That way, she gets stronger and healthier.”

According to her mother, Julia has an unrestricted diet. Workouts are usually at night and last about an hour, so she snacks on fruit or sandwiches.

“LOnce after training, she normally eats dinner. Her meals are prepared by me. He doesn’t drink soda by choice, nor does he eat any type of sausage, yogurt or chocolate. She never liked it. So, she has a very healthy diet,” she says.

Erica says that her daughter loves to ride skateboard and bicycle and who already has ideas for professionalization in the future. “The first option is to be a professional crossfit athlete, The second option is to be a chef, the third to be a sports doctor”.