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 .
High-resistance versus variable-resistance training in older adults.
PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of high-resistance ( HR ) training , 3 times.wk(-1 ) at 80 % maximum strength ( 1RM ) with 3 times.wk(-1 ) variable-resistance ( VR ) training ( once-weekly training at 80 % , 65 % , and 50 % 1RM ) in older adults . METHODS The study was a 6-month resistance training intervention conducted in the Birmingham Alabama metropolitan area , and included healthy volunteer men and women over the age of 60 . Twenty-eight subjects were assigned r and omly to two training groups . Eight volunteers served as controls . Before and after 25 wk of training , body composition was measured by densitometry ; strength by isometric tests ; and difficulty in performing daily activity tasks ( DAT ) by measuring heart rate , oxygen uptake , electromyography , and perceived exertion . In addition , 1RM strength was measured every 25 d throughout the 6 months of training . Repeated measures ANOVA and paired t-tests with Bonferroni corrections for additive alpha were used to analyze the data . RESULTS The control group did not significantly change in any study parameter . No significant change in body weight occurred for any group . However , the HR and VR groups increased fat free mass ( FFM ) similarly ( 1.8 kg and 1.9 kg , respectively ) . Both training groups increased strength significantly , without significant differences in change . No significant change in oxygen uptake occurred during DAT . However , there was a significant time effect for heart rate and perceived exertion . Greater decrease in normalized integrated electromyography during the carry task was found in the VR group over the HR and control groups . CONCLUSION Despite similar increases in strength and fat free mass , the VR group decreased difficulty of performing the carry task more than the HR group . These data suggest that larger improvements in DAT may be achieved if frequency of high-resistance training is less than 3 times.wk(-1 )
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 .