Older People Benefit From Progressive Resistance Strength Training

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Older People Benefit From Progressive Resistance Strength Training

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156772.php

Progressive resistance strength training not only helps older adults become

stronger but also makes their everyday life easier, a Cochrane Review suggests.

Muscle strength decreases naturally as people age. This reduction in muscle

strength could affect older adults carrying out daily activities. Progressive

resistance strength training is a type of strength training that uses free

weights, exercise machines, or elastic bands to strengthen muscles. Key to this

type of this exercise is adjusting the resistance, or weight, according to the

person's progress. This exercise can be prescribed to help older adults gain the

strength necessary to carry out everyday activities such as walking, climbing

stairs, bathing or doing housework.

" Older adults seem to benefit from this type of exercise even at the age of 80,

and even with some type of health condition. The data support the idea that

muscle strength is largely improved after the training, and the impact on older

adults' daily activities can be significant. Simply having enough strength to do

things such as carrying groceries would make a difference for seniors " says lead

researcher Chiung-ju Liu of the Department of Occupational Therapy at the

Indiana University at Indianapolis in the US.

The 121 trials reviewed in the study involved 6,700 people over the age of 60,

who trained two to three times a week. Training produced a large improvement in

muscle strength, a moderate to large improvement in doing simple activities such

as getting up from a chair or climbing stairs and a small but statistically

significant improvement in doing complex daily activities, such as bathing or

preparing a meal.

Severe adverse events were rare and most reported events were muscle soreness

and pain.

" We recommend older adults work with a health professional or an exercise

professional to do progressive resistance strength training " says Liu. Because

the long-term effect was not assessed in most trials, the Cochrane Researchers

did not know how long the effects could last.