Clinical trial NCT06825130: High-intensity Interval Training Combined with Muscle-strength Training in Older Women
Official title: Feasibility and Preliminary Efficacy of High-intensity Interval Training Combined with Muscle-strength Training in Older Women: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Older Adult
Keywords: Women
HIIT
Resistance exercise
Combined exercise
Lead sponsor: University of Nottingham
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2025-02-13
Enrollment: 20
Sex: FEMALE
Minimum age (years): 60
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: Women generally live longer than men but often experience a faster muscle mass loss due to inactivity, which can lead to weakness and disability. Despite these risks, women, particularly older women, are less active than men. In England, less than one-third of women engage in sufficient aerobic activity, and less than 5% do enough muscle strength training. Common reasons for not exercising include lack of time and enjoyment.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is an efficient and effective way to exercise that many women find more enjoyable than longer workouts. HIIT has been shown to be effective in older women, helping them improve their fitness with less time commitment. Because HIIT is time-efficient, it can be combined with muscle strength training without significantly increasing the duration of the exercise session, which may lead to even better fitness results.

This study will assess how practical it is for older women to do HIIT and strength exercise combined training. It will also investigate whether this combined approach can improve overall fitness, muscle strength, aerobic fitness, and quality of life more than HIIT alone.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Females (biologically at birth)
* At least 60 years of age at the time of signing the informed consent
* Non-smoker, including electronic cigarettes
* Not participating in routine high-intensity aerobic or muscle strength exercise training (≥ 75 min/week of structured vigorous aerobic exercise, or 2 times /week of structured muscle strength training)
* Able to perform a cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) to exhaustion
* willing to complete baseline and follow-up measures, and attend prescribed exercise sessions at the University of Nottingham
* willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

* Diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, diabetes, obstructive pulmonary disease, or uncontrolled hypertension
* History or current neurological or psychiatric illness, or motor or cognitive restrictions
* Contraindications to symptom-limited cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), including resting hypertension with systolic blood pressure \>200 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure \> 110 mmHg, uncorrected medical conditions, such as significant anemia, important electrolyte imbalance, and hyperthyroidism, mental impairment with limited ability to cooperate, physical disability that precludes safe and adequate testing.
* Having taken part in a research study in the last 3 months involving invasive procedures or an inconvenience allowance.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Feasibility of high-intensity interval training combined with muscle strength training
timeFrame: From recruitment to week-12
Secondary outcomes:
measure: functional capacity
timeFrame: From baseline to week-12
measure: muscle function
timeFrame: From baseline to week-12
measure: cardiorespiratory fitness
timeFrame: From baseline to week-12
measure: muscle mass
timeFrame: From baseline to week-12
measure: QoL
timeFrame: From baseline to week-12
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Nottingham
country: United Kingdom
facility: David Greenfield Humnn Physiology Unit (DGHPU), University of Nottingham
Study officials:
References: