Abstract
Knee extension strength (KES) improves following body mass-based lower body exercise training; however, it is unknown whether this type of exercise increases handgrip strength (HGS) as a result of a cross-education effect in older individuals. Our aim was to investigate the effect of a body mass-based exercise intervention on HGS and KES in older adults. At baseline, 166 subjects started a 12-week intervention program, and 160 (108 women and 52 men) subjects completed the study. A self-selected group of 37 older adults (21 women and 16 men) served as a control group. HGS, KES, and ultrasound-derived anterior thigh muscle thickness (anterior thigh MT) were measured at baseline and post-testing, and relative strength of the knee extensor (KES/anterior thigh MT) was calculated. A linear regression model controlling for baseline values of body–mass index, % body fat, fat-free mass, HGS, chair stand time, anterior thigh MT, and KES/body mass ratio found a significant difference between control and training groups for KES post-testing values (p = 0.001) and anterior thigh MT post-testing values (p = 0.012), but not for HGS post-testing values (p = 0.287). Our results suggest that increases in lower body strength and muscle size following a 12-week lower body mass-based exercise intervention fail to translate into improvements in HGS.
Highlights
Age-related alteration in handgrip strength (HGS) is a powerful predictor of future disability[1,2] and mortality.[3,4] the mechanism explaining the inverse relationship between HGS and morbidity/mortality in middle-aged and older adults is not fully understood
A significant difference between the training group and control group was found for isometric Knee extension strength (KES) and anterior thigh muscle thickness (MT)
The magnitude of increase in those variables is similar to a previous study investigating the effects of a body mass-based intervention on strength in middle-aged and older women.[23]
Summary
Age-related alteration in handgrip strength (HGS) is a powerful predictor of future disability[1,2] and mortality.[3,4] the mechanism explaining the inverse relationship between HGS and morbidity/mortality in middle-aged and older adults is not fully understood. One way to explore this mechanism is to investigate the underlying factors contributing to individual differences in HGS level among middle-aged and older adults, which may be associated with multiple factors such as heredity and environment (e.g., living conditions, physical activity level, and nutritional state). When resistance exercise is offered using strength training machines, subjects sit on a chair and (in many cases) the subjects’ hands grip a bar to maintain body position during the exercise. This type of exercise indicates indirect handgrip exercise
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