AGING AND MUSCULAR ENDURANCE: A 12 YEAR LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF MIDDLE-AGED AND ELDERLY WOMEN 1440

Abstract

Changes in upper and lower body muscular endurance (ME) was evaluated 12 yrs after participating in a 12-wk resistance training program. Twenty-nine women who completed the original training program (n = 68) volunteered to complete all the original ME tests. ME was assessed on 8 different Nautilus weight machines utilizing a maximum repetition test at the preset resistance determined in the original study. Changes in ME among the original pretests and posttests were compared to the current tests using a one-way ANOVA with repeated measures. When appropriate, a Tukey's post hoc test was completed using the.05 level of confidence. All current ME values were significantly (p<.001) greater than the original pretest values but significantly (p<.01) lower than original posttest for 5 of the 8 exercises. In addition, a two-way ANOVA with repeated measures was used to compare all variables for subgroups based on age and activity levels. Although there was no significant(p>.05) interaction according to age or continued resistance training, the group who had been not participated in any resistance exercise since the original study tended to have greater declines in ME than the group who had been involved in resistance exercise within the last 5 years. It would appear that participation in a resistance training program can result in longterm retention of ME even after the training stimulus had been removed.