Abstract
<strong>Introduction:</strong> Multimodal exercise training can ameliorate the physiological decline associated with ageing. This study aimed to investigate whether 12 weeks of a home-based online multimodal training and health education intervention could improve functional ability and perceptions of physical and mental health in middle-aged and older adults. <strong>Methods:</strong> Sixty-one male (N = 18, 59.1 ± 7.0 years) and female (N = 43, 60.9 ± 6.8 years) participants with various clinical conditions completed two 60-minute training sessions per week for 12 weeks delivered online via Zoom. All sessions included aerobic, resistance, balance, and flexibility exercises. One weekly session incorporated 15 minutes of health and fitness education. The pre/post testing sessions were conducted in a local community centre in line with COVID-19 public health guidelines. Paired samples t-tests and the Wilcoxon signed rank tests were utilised to compare scores pre and post intervention. <strong>Results:</strong> There were significant improvements in participants 6-minute walk (p < 0.0001), sit-to-stand (p < 0.0001), timed-up-and-go (p < 0.0001), sit-and-reach (p < 0.0001), squat jump (p < 0.0001), core endurance (p < 0.0001), grip strength (right hand p = 0.03, left hand p = 0.04) and balance (right leg p < 0.0001, left leg p = 0.004) tests post intervention. Perceptions of physical (p < 0.0001) and mental (p < 0.0001) health also improved significantly. <strong>Discussion:</strong> Twelve weeks of online multimodal training and health education can significantly improve cardiovascular fitness, strength, power, balance, flexibility, and perceptions of physical health, mental health, and quality of life in middle-aged and older adults. While there are some limitations to online interventions, the benefits are numerous and equal to those reported for onsite interventions and should be considered for wider rollout in this population.
Highlights
Multimodal exercise training can ameliorate the physiological decline associated with ageing
This study aimed to investigate whether a 12-week home-based online multimodal physical activity (PA) and health education intervention could improve fitness, strength, balance, flexibility, and perceptions of physical and mental health in middle-aged adults (MAA) and older adults (OA) in Ireland with and without injuries and clinical conditions
The key findings of this study were that 12 weeks of home-based online multimodal training with health education significantly improved cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, power, endurance, balance, flexibility, participation in health enhancing PA, and perceptions of physical health, mental health and quality of life in MAA and OA
Summary
Multimodal exercise training can ameliorate the physiological decline associated with ageing. Discussion: Twelve weeks of online multimodal training and health education can significantly improve cardiovascular fitness, strength, power, balance, flexibility, and perceptions of physical health, mental health, and quality of life in middle-aged and older adults. Ageing results in numerous negative physiological adaptations including reductions in cardiovascular fitness (Stratton et al, 1994), muscle mass, strength, power and function (Larsson et al, 2019), bone mass (Layne and Nelson, 1999), flexibility and range of motion (Singh, 2004), balance (Sturnieks et al, 2008), and cardiovascular and metabolic health (Harber et al, 2017) These adaptations can increase the risk of developing clinical conditions including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, arthritis and osteoporosis (Singh, 2004). This reduces the ability to perform activities that require powerful movements (Reid et al, 2008) such as postural corrections when balance is challenged (Henwood and Taaffe, 2005)
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