Serious adverse events were rare , and no serious events were reported to be directly related to the exercise programme .
This review provides evidence that PRT is an effective intervention for improving physical functioning in  older people , including improving strength and the performance of some simple and complex activities .
BACKGROUND Muscle weakness in old age is associated with physical function decline .
Progressive resistance strength training ( PRT ) exercises are design ed to increase strength .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of PRT on older people and identify adverse events .
Effects of dynamic resistance training on heart rate variability in healthy older women
Twenty healthy women aged between 65 and 74 years , trained three times a week , for 16 weeks , on a cycle ergometer , to determine the effects of dynamic resistance training on heart rate variability ( HRV ) . Subjects were allocated to two training groups , high ( HI , n=10 ) and low ( LO , n=10 ) intensity . The HI group performed eight sets of 8 revolutions at 80 % of the maximum resistance to complete 2 pedal revolutions ( 2RM ) ; the LO group performed eight sets of 16 pedal revolutions at 40 % of 2RM . Subjects were tested twice before , as control period ( −4 weeks and 0 weeks ) and once after training ( 16 weeks ) for HRV , maximum voluntary contraction ( MVC ) of knee extensors and peak power ( Pp ) of lower limbs by jumping on a force platform . HRV was measured using time and frequency domain parameters . Two-way ANOVA for repeated measures was performed on all variables ( P<0.05 ) . Results showed no differences between training groups . Following training HRV was not modified , while MVC and Pp significantly increased . The two proposed forms of dynamic resistance training were appropriate to improve muscle power and strength in elderly females without affecting HRV . More research should verify the effects of an isometric and more prolonged training stimulus on HRV in older subjects
Serious adverse events were rare , and no serious events were reported to be directly related to the exercise programme .
This review provides evidence that PRT is an effective intervention for improving physical functioning in  older people , including improving strength and the performance of some simple and complex activities .
BACKGROUND Muscle weakness in old age is associated with physical function decline .
Progressive resistance strength training ( PRT ) exercises are design ed to increase strength .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of PRT on older people and identify adverse events .