F-66 Clinical Case Slide - Head Trauma

Abstract

PURPOSE: Resistance training has been shown to be an effective method for improving physical function and maintaining independence in aging individuals. Recently studies have shown that power (high-velocity) training may be more beneficial in improving older persons’ function than hypertrophy training. However, utilizing completed repetitions at specific loads is likely inappropriate for progressing velocity-based training and requires repeated 1RM testing at arbitrarily-determined intervals throughout the training period. To examine a novel method for progressing loads during power training based on power plateaus. METHODS: Eight healthy older adults (Mean age±SD: 60.0±12.0 y) were enrolled in a circuit power training program. The participants trained twice per week on pneumatic resistance machines using four exercises: leg press (LP), chest press (CP), seated calf raises (CR), and arm curl (AC) employing three sets of 8-12 repetitions (rapid concentric and controlled eccentric repetitions) for 8 weeks. The training loads used were based on exercise-specific peak power values. When the patterns of power increase plateaued, loads were increases by 5% and training continued until the next power plateau. A repeated-measures ANOVA was used to determine the patterns of changes in power across the training period. RESULTS: Workout compliance was 92% (9 days missed of 112 days). Repeated measures ANOVA showed significant increases in average power across 7 weeks for leg press (199±158W, p<.001), calf raise (75±66W, p<.001) and triceps pushdown (73±54W, p.10). Differences in average power assessed using Cohen’s d showed large effect sizes for leg press (d=1.3), calf raise (d=1), triceps pushdown (d=1.4), and a moderate effect size for chest press (d=.7). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first power training study to employ workload changes based on power plateaus rather than 1RM or arbitrary progression. Results show that this novel method of progression is effective and should be further investigated in a long term study with a larger sample size.