Muscle strength, volume and activation following 12-month resistance training in 70-year-old males
- 8 July 2005
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in European Journal of Applied Physiology
- Vol. 95 (2-3), 197-204
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-005-1342-3
Abstract
In elderly males muscle plantar flexor maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) torque normalised to muscle volume (MVC/VOL) is reduced compared to young males as a result of incomplete muscle activation in the elderly. The aim of the present study was to determine the influence of a 12-month resistance training programme on muscle volume, strength, MVC/VOL, agonist activation and antagonist coactivation of the plantarfexors in elderly males. Thirteen elderly males aged 70 years and over (range 70–82 years), completed a 12-month whole body resistance-training programme (TRN), training three times a week. Another eight males (range 18–30 years), who maintained their habitual physical activity for the same 12-month period as the TRN group acted as controls (CTRL). Isometric plantarflexor maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) torque increased in the TRN group by 20% (P3 to 916.8±144.4 cm3 . PF activation, measured using supramaximal double twitch interpolation, increased from 83.6±11.0% pre training, to 92.1±7.6% post training (P−2 before training and 157.0± 27.9 kN m−2 after training (a non-significant increase of 8%). No significant change in any measurement was observed in the CTRL group. This study has shown that the gain in muscle strength in response to long-term (12-month) training in older men is mostly accounted for by an increased muscle volume and activation.Keywords
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