EFFECTS OF LOW-INTENSITY AND LOW-VELOCITY RESISTANCE TRAINING ON LOWER LIMB MUSCULAR STRENGTH AND BODY COMPOSITION IN ELDERLY ADULTS / 体力科学

ABSTRACT

15 healthy elderly adults (68.6±4.5 years old) participated in this study and were chosen at random for either super low-velocity repetition training (SLT n=7) or general low-velocity repetition training (GLT n=8). All subjects performed machine training leg work twice a week for 6 months. Training contents of SLT and GLT were programmed as follows SLT (Method: 4 seconds of lifting and 6 sec of lowering) and GLT (Method: 2 sec of lifting and 2 sec of lowering). Muscular strength testing was adopted during isometric knee extension using Cybex6000, and body composition was measured by DXA method. As a result, increases in peak torque values and 5 sec average torques value were significantly different in both groups, pre- and post-training (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups. Fat mass significantly decreased during post-training in both groups (p<0.05); however, there was no significant difference between the groups. SLT showed that increases in maximum muscular strength and endurance were similar to GLT. Thus, low-intensity and low-velocity repetition training is suggested as an effective method for elderly adults to increase lower limb muscular strength.