Effect Of Bodybuilding Calisthenics Training On Executive Ability In Old Women Adults

Abstract

The interest in research on the exercise ways to improve executive ability has grown rapidly in the last decade due to the aging global population. The exercise programs were mainly involved in walking, swimming and Tai Chi. However, there is little report about the bodybuilding calisthenics training efficiency in improving executive ability of old women adults. PURPOSE: To examine the effect of bodybuilding calisthenics training on executive ability in old women adults. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-seven old women adults (Age: 70.2±7.6 yr., Height: 158.2±4.9 cm, Mass: 59.4±8.5 kg) were recruited from local newspaper advertisement, whose Mini-Mental Status Examination scores were above 25. All subjects were randomly divided into experimental group (EG, n = 75) and control group (CG, n = 52). The EG conducted bodybuilding calisthenics training 2 times a week, 45 minutes each, for 25 weeks, and the CG continued to follow normal daily activities. The Trail Making Test A and B (TMT-A, TMT-B) and Tapping Test were used to evaluate the executive ability, which were measured before and after intervention. Two-way (group vs. time) repeated measures ANOVAs were performed for each of the outcome parameters. Tukey’s HSD tests were employed for post-hoc comparisons. The alpha level was set at p <0.05. RESULTS: 1. There were statistically significant group by time interactions for TMT-A (F(1,124) = 6.90, p<.001), TMT-B (F(1,124) = 6.64, p<.005) and Tapping Test (F(1,124) = 3.99, p<.05). 2. The main effect for time was significant for TMT-A (F(1,129) = 29.48, p<.001), TMT-B (F(1,125) = 22.09, p<.001) and Tapping Test (F(1,125) = 9.35, p<.005). The main effect for group was significant for TMT-A (F(1,125) = 4.77, p<.01), TMT-B (F(1,125) = 4.74, p<.05) and Tapping Test (F(1,125) = 3.14, p<.05). CONCLUSIONS: bodybuilding calisthenics training helped improving executive ability for old women adults.