By Brian Danley
Cupertino, California Personal Trainer
Contact Brian at Personal Trainer Central

Optimizing The Functional Abilities Of Older Adults By Power Training

Traditionally, resistance training, consisting of several sets of heavier loads to maintain strength and reduce sarcopenia, has been the standard means to improve the performance of the activities of daily living (ADL) in older adults.

Power Training for Better Daily Living
Lately, research has shown that power training, consisting of less resistance and faster speed of muscular contractions, may be a more effective protocol to increase the performance of ADL.  Muscle power training may optimize functional performance more so than muscle strength training in older adults.

The more popular means to train older adults has been by focusing on muscular strength to reduce the loss of lean body mass.  This form of training typically includes the performance of two to three sets—each set consisting of eight to twelve repetitions of increasing amounts of load.  Indeed, training in this manner will increase muscular strength but not necessarily muscular power and the ability to perform ADL in older adults.

Power Training for Strength and Rehab
Now research reported by Hazell, T., Kenno, K., and Jakobi, J. (July 2007) has shown that power training, executing the concentric portion of each muscular contraction as fast as possible, is more closely related to performing ADL than performing each repetition with more weight at a slower velocity.  Thus, power training may be more effective for rehabilitation and the prevention of age-related functional degeneration.

The article’s conclusion was that incorporating the power training protocol of lower repetitions of loading but at a quick speed could be a beneficial means of rehabilitating and preventing age-related dysfunction.  Power training has the advantage of not only increasing muscle power but also muscle strength as well.

The research studied has shown that muscle power is more closely related to increasing functionality in older adults.  The particular training protocol of the appropriate amount of loading, sets, repetitions, movement velocity, and duration of rest between sets has not been established as of yet.   In particular, the amount of loading is controversial.

Light and Heavy Loads — Both Effective
Light as well as heavy weights have been utilized within research studies and both have shown to be an effective means of increasing power levels at high velocity.   Although heavier weight seems to be the more appropriate recommendation since it’s the Type II muscle fibers (the ones which atrophy the most during the aging process) that would receive the most recruitment with this type of loading.

Specificity in terms of the particular muscles which are trained is also a consideration.  Some muscles respond better to power training than others due to their unique muscle fiber type composition.  Finally, particular muscle function protocol tests need to be considered when ascertaining the functionality of an older adult.  These tests could be utilized to determine the performance level of each older adult based on defined standards.  The results of these tests could be used to prescribe particular training programs.

Skeletal-muscle power is the product of load and muscular contraction speed or the ability to produce force quickly—thus, strength is incorporated in order to resist the load applied to muscles.   It is this increased muscular strength that reduces the aging effects of muscle atrophy, lessened agility, unstable balance, and unsteady gait.  Improving the muscular strength and power of older adults can improve the ability to walk, climb stairs, stand from a sitting position, and lift objects—all activities which are taken for granted during the younger years but not necessarily during the mature years of aging.

Since muscle power generally decreases with age, it makes sense that one should perform movements with some loading at a fast speed to slow these decrements during the aging process.

To contact Brian or for more information about Brian Danley visit his Cupertino, California Personal Trainer profile page.

About Brian Danley
Brian Danley is a Certified Fitness Trainer, providing health and fitness guidance to home-based as well as Stanford University clients. Brian holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology and in Mechanical Engineering. In addition, he holds a Specialist in Performance Nutrition (SPN), and Fitness Therapy (FT) certification from the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA).

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References

Hazell, T., Kenno, K., Jakobi, J. (July 2007).  Functional Benefit of Power Training for Older Adults.  Journal of Aging and Physical Activity. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from Academic Search Premier Database.