Water-based continuous and interval training in older women: Cardiorespiratory and neuromuscular outcomes (WATER study).

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two water-based aerobic programs on cardiorespiratory and neuromuscular outcomes in older women. Forty-one women (60 to 75years old) volunteered to participate in the study. Participants were randomized into a water-based continuous (CTG; n=21; 63.9±2.5years) or an interval (ITG; n=20; 64.8±3.6years) aerobic training group. Both training programs were performed for 12weeks (45-min sessions twice a week), with exercise intensity based on rating of perceived exertion (Borg's RPE 6-20 Scale). Pre and post training assessments of cardiorespiratory and neuromuscular outcomes were performed. Data analyses were conducted using Generalized Estimating Equations and Bonferroni post-hoc test (α=0.05). After the intervention, the CTG and the ITG displayed similar improvements in time to exhaustion (8% vs. 11%), peak oxygen uptake (9% vs. 7%), maximal dynamic knee extension strength (5% vs. 6%), dynamic muscular endurance of knee extensors (10% vs. 11%), maximal vastus lateralis electromyographic signal amplitude (13% vs. 35%), as well as an increase in muscle thickness (5% vs. 6%) and decrease in muscle echo intensity (-2% vs. -3%) of the quadriceps femoris. In conclusion, older women benefited from water-based exercise training prescribed based on participants' RPE, with both the interval and the continuous training programs resulting in similar increases in the cardiorespiratory and neuromuscular parameters.