Effects of Short- and Long-Term Aerobic-Strength Training and Determinants of Walking Speed in the Elderly.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Walking speed (WS) is an objective measure of physical capacity and a modifiable risk factor of morbidity and mortality in the elderly. In this study, we (i) determined effects of 3-month supervised aerobic-strength training on WS, muscle strength, and habitual physical activity; (ii) evaluated capacity of long-term (21 months) training to sustain higher WS; and (iii) identified determinants of WS in the elderly. METHODS: Volunteers (F 48/M 14, 68.4 ± 7.1 years) completed either 3-month aerobic-strength (3 × 1 h/week, n = 48) or stretching (active control, n = 14) intervention (study A). Thirty-one individuals (F 24/M 7) from study A continued in supervised aerobic-strength training (2 × 1 h/week, 21 months) and 6 (F 5/M 1) became nonexercising controls. RESULTS: Three-month aerobic-strength training increased preferred and maximal WS (10-m walk test, p < 0.01), muscle strength (p < 0.01) and torque (p < 0.01) at knee extension, and 24-h habitual physical activity (p < 0.001), while stretching increased only preferred WS (p < 0.03). Effect of training on maximal WS was most prominent in individuals with baseline WS between 1.85 and 2.30 m·s-1. Maximal WS measured before intervention correlated negatively with age (r = -0.339, p = 0.007), but this correlation was weakened by the intervention (r = -0.238, p = 0.06). WS progressively increased within the first 9 months of aerobic-strength training (p < 0.001) and remained elevated during 21-month intervention (p < 0.01). Cerebellar gray matter volume (MRI) was positively associated with maximal (r = 0.54; p < 0.0001) but not preferred WS and explained >26% of its variability, while age had only minor effect. CONCLUSIONS: Supervised aerobic-strength training increased WS, strength, and dynamics of voluntary knee extension as well as habitual physical activity in older individuals. Favorable changes in WS were sustainable over the 21-month period by a lower dose of aerobic-strength training. Training effects on WS were not limited by age, and cerebellar cortex volume was the key determinant of WS.

Can lifelong endurance exercise improve ageing through beneficial effects on circadian timing function, muscular performance and health status in men? Protocol for a comparative cross-sectional study.

A well-synchronized circadian system is a manifestation of an individual's health. A gradual weakening of the circadian timing function characterizes aging. Regular exercise has been suggested as a modality to improve many detrimental changes associated with aging. Therefore, we aim to examine the benefits and risks of lifelong endurance exercise on age-dependent changes in the circadian time-keeping function, the performance of the muscular system and health status. The study protocol has a comparative cross-sectional design, including groups of senior (65 to 75 years old, n=16) and young (20-30 years old, n=16) endurance runners and triathletes. Age-matched groups of young and elderly sedentary men are included as controls. The circadian function is evaluated mainly by measurement of urinary 6-sulphatoxymelatonin, a metabolite of the hormone melatonin shown to participate in the modulation of sleep cycles. The 6-sulphatoxymelatonin will be assessed in urine samples collected upon awakening in the morning and in the late evening, as a marker of melatonin production. In addition, sleep/activity rhythms and sleep quality will be measured by wrist actigraphy. Performance of the muscular system will be assessed by examination of muscular strength and quantifying of gene expression in the skeletal muscle tissue samples. Health status and age-induced reduction in immune function are to be analysed via the balance of pro- and anti-inflammatory immune markers in the plasma and skeletal muscle, body composition, bone density and physical fitness.

Aging and Possible Benefits or Negatives of Lifelong Endurance Running: How Master Male Athletes Differ from Young Athletes and Elderly Sedentary?

Regular physical activity, recommended by the WHO, is crucial in maintaining a good physical fitness level and health status and slows down the effects of aging. However, there is a lack of knowledge of whether lifelong endurance running, with a volume and frequency above the WHO limits, still brings the same benefits, or several negative effects too. The present study aims to examine the protentional benefits and risks of lifelong endurance running training in Master male athletes, as this level of physical activity is above the WHO recommendations. Within the study, four main groups of participants will be included: (1) endurance-trained master athletes, (2) endurance-trained young athletes, (3) young sedentary adults, and (4) elderly sedentary. Both groups of athletes are strictly marathon runners, who are still actively running. The broad spectrum of the diagnostic tests, from the questionnaires, physical fitness testing, and blood sampling to muscle biopsy, will be performed to obtain the possibility of complexly analyzing the effects of lifelong endurance physical activity on the human body and aging. Moreover, the study will try to discover and explain new relationships between endurance running and diagnostic parameters, not only within aging.

The effectiveness of two different multimodal training modes on physical performance in elderly.

The study compared the effect of 12-week multimodal training programme performed twice a week at the regular exercise facility (REF) with the 12-week multimodal training programme performed three times per week as a part of the research programme (EX). Additionally, the study analysed how the experimental training programme affect the physical performance of cognitive healthy and mild cognitive impaired elderly (MCI). The REF training group included 19 elderly (65.00±3.62 years). The experimental training programme combined cognitively healthy (EXH: n=16; 66.3±6.42 years) and age-matched individuals with MCI (EXMCI: n=14; 66.00±4.79 years). 10m maximal walking speed (10mMWS), Five Times Sit-to-Stand Test (FTSS), maximal and relative voluntary contraction (MVC & rel. MVC) were analysed. The REF group improved in 10mMWS (t=2.431, p=.026), the MVC (t=-3.528, p=.002) and relative MVC (t=3.553, p=.002). The EXH group improved in FTSS (t=5.210, P=.000), MVC (t=2.771, p=.018) and relative MVC (t=-3.793, p=.004). EXMCI improved in FTSS (t=2.936, p=.012) and MVC (t=-2.276, p=.040). According to results, both training programmes sufficiently improved walking speed and muscle strength in cognitively healthy elderly. Moreover, the experimental training programme improved muscle strength in MCI elderly.