RESISTANCE TRAINING AND ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING IN OLDER ADULTS 606

Abstract

We examined the effects of a 16-week resistance training (RT) program on muscular strength (MS) and activities of daily living (ADL) in 18 female and 4 male subjects (56-90 yrs; 71±8.5). A one repetition maximum (1RM) lift was used to evaluate upper and lower body MS in dominant (D) and non-dominant(ND) limbs. ADL were evaluated using the Chair-to-Counter test, a component of the Amundsen test battery. Subjects trained 3x/wk, 1 hr, 3 sets-6 reps at 70% of 1RM. Statistical analysis (ANOVA) revealed significant strength gains (p<0.05) in upper body MS for the: biceps curl(BC)-ND; triceps extension (TE)-D; lateral arm raise (LR)-D, ND; arm flexion(AF)-D, ND, as well as lower body MS for knee extension (KE)-D, ND; leg curl(LC)-D, ND and hip flexion (HF)-D, ND. Performance in theChair-to-Counter test improved by 16.1% (p<0.05) after training. A Pearson Product Moment Correlation (r) was applied to tests of MS and ADL prior to (T1) and after RT (T2). Table These findings suggest MS and ADL were significantly enhanced in older adults following 16 weeks of RT. Furthermore, the changes in correlations from T1 to T2 suggest the improvements in the ability to perform ADL were related to increases in MS.