With age, it is not uncommon to notice a loss of Muscular force. In seniors, this may be a factor causing Autonomy loss. Researchers from the Institute of Sport and Medicine in Copenhagen, Denmark, wondered how to maintain muscular strength in the arms and legs. They noticed that seniors who did resistance training three times a week, one year before retirement, had benefits until the end of their lives. Their results are published in the revue BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine.
One year of muscular resistance training would have benefits four years later among seniors
To reach this conclusion, the researchers based themselves on a panel of 451 people approaching retirement age. The participants were all enrolled in the Live Active Successful Aging study, also called LISA. Experts measured bone and muscle strength and visceral fat levels in all participants at the start of the trial and then annually for four years.
The participants were divided into three groups. A first group of 149 people had to follow three intense resistance training sessions per week for a year. This is characterized by lifting weights. A second group of 154 people underwent moderate-intensity training, consisting of “bodyweight” exercises, as well as the use of sports elastics. The muscles that were targeted were those of the legs. The third group did not follow a sports program within the study, but was encouraged to have a sports activity.
Muscular strength: researchers call for encouraging seniors to practice resistance training
After four years, the researchers noted that all three groups had less muscle power in their legs compared to the end of the first year of training. However, the researchers note that participants who did muscular resistance training had more leg strength than the other groups.
At the level of the visceral fatnamely the fat that is stored internally around the organs, the researchers note that “Levels remained the same in the heavy-weight resistance training groups and the moderate-intensity exercise groups, but increased in the comparison group.”
Also, researchers believe that “this study provides evidence that resistance training with heavy loads at retirement age can have long-term effects over several years”. The authors call on health professionals and policy makers to “encouraging older adults to engage in intensive resistance training”.
Sources :
- Heavy resistance training around retirement preserves vital leg strength years later, shows study – BMJ (Communiqué) 18/06/2024 –
- Heavy resistance training at retirement age induces 4-year lasting beneficial effects in muscle strength: a long-term follow-up of an RCT – BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine
