Long-term effect of two-type exercise capacity on muscle strength and endurance performance in elderly adults

الملخص EN

Background: Elderly adults have the highest rates of disability because prolongation of life is accompanied by significant changes in body composition, such as a decline in muscle mass and metabolic quality of skeletal muscle.

These changes are associated with poor physical activity.

The main purpose of this study was to assess the effect of two-type exercise capacity endurance training (ET) and resistance training (RT) on muscle strength and endurance performance in elderly adults.

Objective: Considering muscle strength along with aerobic power decrease with age, we investigated what types of training are more effective in increasing physical performance in the elderly.

In particular, we desired to find out whether endurance training is superior to increase muscle strength and whether resistance training can increase the aerobic power of healthy elderly adults.

Methods: For this study, 24 participants (15 women, 9 men), 51 to 61 years old, were randomized into three groups: 8 persons (4 women, 4 men), undertook a continuous 12-weeks ET program, 8 (4 women, 4 men), undertook a continuous 12-weeks RT program and 8 persons (7 women, 1 men) served as a control group.

All participants were evaluated with step tests of American College of Sport Medicine (ACSM) to estimate maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) before and after the training period 12-weeks.

Maximum strength was determined from one repetition maximum (1-RM).

Results: The endurance training group improved by 4% in Aerobic power, under other conditions the resistance training group improved by 1.5% , both of which were significant.

Maximum strength increased for leg press, bench press, and bench pull respectively by 11 % , 19% and 23% (P < 0.001) in the resistance training group, although the endurance training group showed no influence on maximum strength except for the 1-RM in bench pull.

Body fat declined in the endurance training group by 3.3% which was significant at (P = 0.05), whereas just the resistance training group increased lean body mass by 1.0 ± 0.5 kg.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that a two-type exercise capacity can improve muscle strength and endurance performance and prevent a decline in functional fitness in older individuals, influence their lifestyle and positively affect their ability to stay independent.

Resistance training leads to a substantial improvement in muscle strength in healthy elderly adults.

Endurance training seems to be the most effective training mode for keeping and increasing maximum aerobic power in the elderly and should be viewed as a complement to resistance training.