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Recent research shows that elderly people who engage in strength training twice a week become 42% stronger and gain more muscle mass in just ten weeks. Moreover, the workouts lasted only 20 minutes.
Research on the Elderly and Strength Training
Researchers from the Federal University of Sao Carlos will soon describe their results in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research [1]. However, we were able to preview them online.
The researchers divided 14 healthy elderly individuals (average age 65) into two groups. One group (RT) then engaged in strength training for the legs twice a week. The sessions lasted only 20 minutes because they performed only one exercise, namely the leg press. They did 4 sets of 10 repetitions with a weight of 70-80% 1RM (so 70-80 percent of the weight they could do for one repetition). The other group (CG) served as a control group and did not engage in training. Both groups received a “familiarization session” beforehand to learn the exercise and a 1RM test to determine the training weight.
Every two sessions (thus weekly), the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the vastus lateralis (one of the thigh muscles) was measured. After five weeks (ten training sessions), another 1-RM test was performed to determine if the training weight needed adjustment.
The Results
You can see the results on the right. Strength increased by 42% over the entire period while the CSA of the vastus lateralis increased in size by 7 to 8 percent.
The vastus lateralis CSA measured by US (time-course) demonstrated significant increases in muscle size after the ninth (18 RT sessions) and tenth (20 RT sessions) weeks of training (7.1%, Pre: 18.5 ± 3.9 vs. 9th week: 19.8 ± 4.1; P < 0.05 and 7.8%, Pre: 18.5 ± 3.9 vs. 10th week: 19.95 ± 4.0; P < 0.05) The 1-RM showed significant increases after training period only for the RT group (42%, Pre: 163 ± 49 vs. Post: 258 ± 120; P < 0.05)
M.E. Lixandrão
Strength of the Study: Muscle Growth Progression
The beauty of this research is that MRI measurements were taken every week to assess the size of the muscle, in this case, the vastus lateralis. This allows you to see the effect during the study and not just compare the beginning and end results. In the graph, you can see how the muscle starts growing in size almost immediately. The researchers mention 9 weeks, or 18 training sessions, because this is the point where the increase can be considered statistically significant (and therefore likely not due to chance).
Intermediate measurements have been done before, but only in younger subjects [2,3]. In those studies, we see that younger individuals respond faster to strength training with muscle growth, in both cases after about 9 training sessions, or 3 to 4 weeks. However, this is to be expected given the differences in hormonal balance. In another study looking at the immediate response to strength training, it was observed that in elderly individuals, muscle protein synthesis immediately after training (muscle protein production, hence muscle growth) is lower than in younger individuals [4].
The key here, however, is not that elderly individuals respond more slowly to strength training than younger individuals. This difference is already known simply due to the differences in physical condition between, for example, an average 30-year-old and an 80-year-old. What is much more interesting is that it may take a little longer for elderly individuals, but there are certainly results to be achieved within a reasonably short period of time.
Caveats of the Study
I have a few caveats about the study. Firstly, the limited number of participants; 14. Not exactly a large population to draw conclusions from. Additionally, this group consisted of 8 men and 6 women. Because differences in hormonal balance are seen as a possible cause of differences in strength between young and old, it seemed more prudent to separate men and women. For example, men may experience more difficulty due to a decrease in testosterone and growth hormone.
Finally, I would have liked to see the results of the 1RM test after five weeks for more insight into how quickly the increase in strength occurred. Now we only have the final result after ten weeks. It was not possible to do this weekly like measuring muscle size because the test itself would then become part of the training protocol and influence the research. But if you need to know it after 5 weeks to determine the resistance in training, then also show the data.
Conclusion: Elderly and Strength Training
It is never too late to start fitness training. Aging can cause a vicious circle: You get older, start to experience some ailments, become less active, lose muscle mass because you are less active, do even less because you feel even weaker, etc. Under the motto “use it or lose it,” it is incredibly important for older individuals to remain as active as possible and continue to use their muscle mass.
However, if you find yourself unplanned sitting behind the geraniums for a year or more, do not fear: There is still time, it is never too late. Within two months, you can crush that pot of geraniums between your muscular thighs!
References
- Lixandrão, Manoel Emílio et al.TIME-COURSE OF RESISTANCE TRAINING-INDUCED MUSCLE HYPERTROPHY IN ELDERLY.Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research:
Post Acceptance: June 18, 2015doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001019
- DeFreitas JM, Beck TW, Stock MS, Dillon MA, and Kasishke PR, 2nd. An examination of the time course of training-induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy. European journal of applied physiology 111: 2785-2790, 2011.
- Seynnes OR, de Boer M, and Narici MV. Early skeletal muscle hypertrophy and architectural changes in response to high-intensity resistance training. Journal of applied physiology 102: 368-373, 2007.
- Kumar V, Selby A, Rankin D, Patel R, Atherton P, Hildebrandt W, Williams J, Smith K, Seynnes O, Hiscock N, and Rennie MJ. Age-related differences in the doseresponse relationship of muscle protein synthesis to resistance exercise in young and old men. The Journal of physiology 587: 211-217, 2009.
