Keywords

Aging, physical activity, sarcopenia, exercise physiology, neuromuscular fatigue

Abstract

Age-related deficits in muscle mass, strength, and function place an increased burden of work on existing skeletal muscle and may lead to early onset of neuromuscular fatigue (NMF) during activities of daily living. Resistance exercise (RE) is the proven method for improving neuromuscular function in healthy older adults. PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of 6 weeks of RE on the NMF threshold as well as strength and functional performance in older adults. METHODS: Twenty-four older adults were randomly assigned to 6 weeks of RE (EXE; n = 12; age 72 ± 6.3 y; BMI 28.4 kg/m2 ) or control (CONT; n = 12; age 70.3 ± 5.6 y; BMI 27.6 kg/m2 ). Body fat percent (BF%), lean mass (LM), and fat mass (FM) were measured using DEXA and participants performed a discontinuous cycle ergometer test, physical working capacity at fatigue threshold (PWCFT), to determine the onset of NMF. Functional performance was assessed by time to complete 5 chair rises (CHAIR) and walk an 8-foot course (WALK). Lower body strength was assessed by predicted 1-RM leg extension (1RM). Two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA; time [PRE, POST] x group [EXE and CONT]) and magnitude based inferences were used to compare dependent variables. RESULTS: RE significantly increased 1RM (35%; p = 0.001) and CHAIR (20%; p = 0.047). RE had a likely beneficial effect on WALK (15%) and a possibly beneficial effect on PWCFT (14%). There were no significant changes to LM or FM, however, women in EXE significantly decreased BF% (p = 0.020). CONCLUSION: Results suggest that RE improves measures of strength and functional performance and possibly the onset of NMF in older adults.

Notes

If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu

Graduation Date

2013

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Stout, Jeffrey

Degree

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Education and Human Performance

Department

Child, Family, and Community Sciences

Degree Program

Sport and Exercise Science; Applied Exercise Physiology

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0004679

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0004679

Language

English

Release Date

May 2013

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Education, Education -- Dissertations, Academic

Download

Share

COinS