power training is feasible for elderly persons and has a small advantage over strength training for functional outcomes .
OBJECTIVE to determine the effects of power training with high movement velocity compared with conventional resistance training with low movement velocity for older community-dwelling people .
Neuromuscular and balance responses to flywheel inertial versus weight training in older persons.
AIM Loss of muscle strength and balance are main characteristics of physical frailty in old age . Postural sway is associated with muscle contractile capacity and to the ability of rapidly correcting ankle joint changes . Thus , resistance training would be expected to improve not only strength but also postural balance . METHODS In this study , age-matched older individuals ( 69.9+/-1.3 years ) were r and omly assigned to flywheel ( n=12 ) , or weight-lifting ( n=12 ) groups , training the knee extensors thrice weekly for 12 weeks . The hypotheses were that owing to a larger eccentric loading of the knee extensors , flywheel training would result in ( a ) greater gains in quadriceps strength ; ( b ) greater improvements in balance performance compared with weight-lifting training . Isokinetic dynamometry , B-mode ultrasonography , electromyography , percutaneous muscle stimulation and magnetic resonance imaging were employed to acquire the parameters of interest . RESULTS Following training , knee extensors peak isokinetic power increased by 28 % ( P<0.01 ) in the flywheel group with no change in the weight-lifting group . Adaptations of the gastrocnemius muscle also occurred in both groups . The gastrocnemius characteristic with the highest response to training was tendon stiffness , with increases of 54 % and 136 % in the weight-lifting and flywheel groups , respectively ( P<0.01 ) . The larger increase in tendon stiffness in the flywheel group was associated with an improvement in postural balance ( P<0.01 ) . CONCLUSION Quadriceps flywheel loading not only produces a greater increase in power than weight training but its physiological benefits also transfer/overspill to the plantarflexor muscle-tendon unit result ing in a significantly improved balance . These findings support our initial hypotheses
power training is feasible for elderly persons and has a small advantage over strength training for functional outcomes .
OBJECTIVE to determine the effects of power training with high movement velocity compared with conventional resistance training with low movement velocity for older community-dwelling people .