Symposium 2.3 - From Growth to Adaptation: Understanding Physical Development and Trainability Across Childhood and Adolescence

Abstract

The development and trainability of key physical capabilities during childhood and adolescence are fundamental for health, performance, and injury prevention. This symposium will explore three interrelated domains: (1) cardiorespiratory fitness, focusing on maximal aerobic capacity (VO₂max), exercise economy, and endurance performance; (2) neuromuscular performance, encompassing muscle morphology as well as neural components of strength and power production; and (3) sensorimotor function, including postural control, motor coordination, and motor skill execution. Together, these systems underpin cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, movement efficiency, and motor proficiency across growth and maturation.

The symposium aims to elucidate typical developmental trajectories of these capabilities from early childhood through adolescence and to determine their specific trainability at different maturational stages. By integrating evidence from longitudinal and interventional studies, along with our own recent pilot data from the decade-study, we will discuss underlying physiological mechanisms, sex- and maturation-related differences, and methodological challenges in distinguishing growth-related changes from true training adaptations. Ultimately, the session seeks to establish an integrative framework describing how biological development and targeted training interact to shape performance potential, coordination, and health outcomes in youth, thereby, providing implications for evidence-based training design, talent development, and long-term well-being.