Affective responses to supervised 10-week programs of resistance exercise in older adults

Background: Resistance exercise has numerous, well-documented benefits on the health and functional performance of older adults. However, little information exists on the affective responses to resistance exercise in this population. As affective responses can predict continued exercise behavior, examining if and how they differ between resistance exercise intensities and frequencies in older adults may provide important data to improve resistance exercise prescription. Methods: We monitored the affective responses of older adults when performing high-velocity, low-load (HVLL) or low-velocity, high-load (LVHL) resistance exercise once or twice weekly. A total of 40 moderately to highly active, but resistance-exercise naïve, older adults (60–79 years) completed 1 of 4 randomly assigned progressive resistance exercise conditions: HVLL once weekly (HVLL1: n = 10), HVLL twice weekly (HVLL2: n = 10), LVHL once weekly (LVHL1: n = 10), or LVHL twice weekly (LVHL2: n = 10). The Physical Activity Affect Scale, Felt Arousal Scale, Feeling Scale, rating of perceived exertion, visual analogue, and the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale were used to assess enjoyment and affective responses. Results: The results from Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (out of 35) suggest that all exercise conditions were largely and similarly enjoyable to older adults (HVLL1: 30.9 ± 2.4; LVHL1: 31.9 ± 3.6; HVLL2: 30.9 ± 3.5; LVHL2: 30.2 ± 3.7) despite greater fatigue (p = 0.033; η p2 = 0.22) and perceived workload (p = 0.042; η p2 = 0.20) in LVHL. Conclusion: Moderately to highly physically active older adults may tolerate higher intensities of resistance exercise performed once or twice weekly without experiencing a negative impact on enjoyment. However, the role that supervision and social interaction played in shaping the participants’ responses is unclear

Effectiveness of dual-task functional power training for preventing falls in older people: Study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial

Background: Falls are a major public health concern with at least one third of people aged 65 years and over falling at least once per year, and half of these will fall repeatedly, which can lead to injury, pain, loss of function and independence, reduced quality of life and even death. Although the causes of falls are varied and complex, the age-related loss in muscle power has emerged as a useful predictor of disability and falls in older people. In this population, the requirements to produce explosive and rapid movements often occurs whilst simultaneously performing other attention-demanding cognitive or motor tasks, such as walking while talking or carrying an object. The primary aim of this study is to determine whether dual-task functional power training (DT-FPT) can reduce the rate of falls in community-dwelling older people. Methods/Design: The study design is an 18-month cluster randomised controlled trial in which 280 adults aged =65 years residing in retirement villages, who are at increased risk of falling, will be randomly allocated to: 1) an exercise programme involving DT-FPT, or 2) a usual care control group. The intervention is divided into 3 distinct phases: 6 months of supervised DT-FPT, a 6-month 'step down' maintenance programme, and a 6-month follow-up. The primary outcome will be the number of falls after 6, 12 and 18 months. Secondary outcomes will include: lower extremity muscle power and strength, grip strength, functional assessments of gait, reaction time and dynamic balance under single- and dual-task conditions, activities of daily living, quality of life, cognitive function and falls-related self-efficacy. We will also evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the programme for preventing falls. Discussion: The study offers a novel approach that may guide the development and implementation of future community-based falls prevention programmes that specifically focus on optimising muscle power and dual-task performance to reduce falls risk under 'real life' conditions in older adults. In addition, the 'step down' programme will provide new information about the efficacy of a less intensive maintenance programme for reducing the risk of falls over an extended period. Trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12613001161718. Date registered 23 October 2013

Ageing, Muscle Power and Physical Function: A Systematic Review and Implications for Pragmatic Training Interventions.

BACKGROUND: The physiological impairments most strongly associated with functional performance in older people are logically the most efficient therapeutic targets for exercise training interventions aimed at improving function and maintaining independence in later life. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this review were to (1) systematically review the relationship between muscle power and functional performance in older people; (2) systematically review the effect of power training (PT) interventions on functional performance in older people; and (3) identify components of successful PT interventions relevant to pragmatic trials by scoping the literature. METHODS: Our approach involved three stages. First, we systematically reviewed evidence on the relationship between muscle power, muscle strength and functional performance and, second, we systematically reviewed PT intervention studies that included both muscle power and at least one index of functional performance as outcome measures. Finally, taking a strong pragmatic perspective, we conducted a scoping review of the PT evidence to identify the successful components of training interventions needed to provide a minimally effective training dose to improve physical function. RESULTS: Evidence from 44 studies revealed a positive association between muscle power and indices of physical function, and that muscle power is a marginally superior predictor of functional performance than muscle strength. Nine studies revealed maximal angular velocity of movement, an important component of muscle power, to be positively associated with functional performance and a better predictor of functional performance than muscle strength. We identified 31 PT studies, characterised by small sample sizes and incomplete reporting of interventions, resulting in less than one-in-five studies judged as having a low risk of bias. Thirteen studies compared traditional resistance training with PT, with ten studies reporting the superiority of PT for either muscle power or functional performance. Further studies demonstrated the efficacy of various methods of resistance and functional task PT on muscle power and functional performance, including low-load PT and low-volume interventions. CONCLUSIONS: Maximal intended movement velocity, low training load, simple training methods, low-volume training and low-frequency training were revealed as components offering potential for the development of a pragmatic intervention. Additionally, the research area is dominated by short-term interventions producing short-term gains with little consideration of the long-term maintenance of functional performance. We believe the area would benefit from larger and higher-quality studies and consideration of optimal long-term strategies to develop and maintain muscle power and physical function over years rather than weeks

The acute physiological effects of high- and low-velocity resistance exercise in older adults

The aim of the present study was to determine if workload matched, high-velocity (HVE) and low-velocity (LVE) resistance exercise protocols, elicit differing acute physiological responses in older adults. Ten older adults completed three sets of eight exercises on six separate occasions (three HVE and three LVE sessions). Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and blood lactate were measured pre- and post-exercise, heart rate was measured before exercise and following each set of each exercise. Finally, a rating of perceived exertion was measured following each set of each exercise. There were no significant differences in blood lactate (F(1,9) = 0.028; P = 0.872; ηP2 = 0.003), heart rate (F(1,9) = 0.045; P = 0.837; ηP2 = 0.005), systolic blood pressure (F(1,9) = 0.023; P = 0.884; ηP2 = 0.003) or diastolic blood pressure (F(1,9) = 1.516; P = 0.249; ηP2 = 0.144) between HVE and LVE. However, LVE elicited significantly greater ratings of perceived exertion compared to HVE (F(1,9) = 13.059; P = 0.006; ηP2 = 0.592). The present workload matched HVE and LVE protocols produced comparable physiological responses, although greater exertion was perceived during LVE

A lifetime of fitness : exercise in the perimenopausal and postmenopausal woman

Activité physique et ménopause : effets de l'exercice et de l'entraînement aérobie ou musculaire sur la symptomatologie de la ménopause. Effets sur la densité osseuse, l'arthrose, la masse musculaire, l'adiposité corporelle. Recommandations pour la prescription d'un programme d'exercice adapté à l'âge et à la condition physique de la femme