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 .
Early plateaus of power and torque gains during high- and low-speed resistance training of older women.
Periodization is the most effective approach to resistance training ; however , optimal cycle lengths for older persons are not known . This study examined the duration s of performance increments , plateaus , and decrements in women , ages 61 - 75 yr , over 9 wk of isokinetic training .  After a 2-wk adaptation cycle , older women trained for either power ( PWR ; 4.73 rad/s ; n = 9 ) or strength ( STR ; 1.05 rad/s ; n = 8) , 3 days/wk with a 1-day recovery between sessions . Repetitions were initially selected to equilibrate work volume between groups . Average power ( AP ) , peak torque ( PT ) , and total work ( TW ) curves were analyzed using forward and backward stepwise regression to ascertain inflections and plateaus . PWR training produced the highest AP , whereas STR produced the highest PT . TW was similar between groups . The AP curves of the PWR group initially showed a steep positive slope and then plateaued during week 3 . The right leg plateau lasted throughout training , whereas the left leg showed another positive inflection during weeks 7 and 8 . PWR group TW curves showed positive slopes throughout training . STR group PT curves for both legs showed initial positive slopes peaking between weeks 3 and 4 and declining thereafter . The TW curves for both legs showed slight negative slopes across the first 2 wk , steep positive slopes during weeks 3 - 6 , and a final plateau . Because improvements plateau early during PWR and STR training , isokinetic training prescriptions for optimizing strength and power improvements in older persons should use cycles of 3 - 4 wk to maximize gains
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 .