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Updated: Oct 1, 2026
Improving Strength, Power, Muscle Aerobic Capacity, and Glucose Tolerance through Short-term Progressive Strength Training Among Elderly People
Published on: July 5, 2017
High-velocity resistance training increases skeletal muscle peak power in older women
Roger A Fielding1, Nathan K LeBrasseur, Anthony Cuoco
1Human Physiology Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences, Boston University Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA. fielding@bu.edu
Objectives:
Peak power declines more precipitously than strength with advancing age and is a reliable measure of impairment and a strong predictor of functional performance. We tested the hypothesis that a high-velocity resistance-training program (HI) would increase muscle power more than a traditional low-velocity resistance-training program (LO).
Design:
Randomized controlled trial.
Setting:
University-based human physiology laboratory.
Participants:
Thirty women with self-reported dis-ability (aged 73 + 1, body mass index 30.1 + 1.1 kg/mn).
Intervention:
We conducted a randomized trial comparing changes in skeletal muscle power and strength after 16 weeks of HI or LO. Training was performed three times per week, and subjects completed three sets (8-10 repetitions) of leg press (LP) and knee extension (KE) exercises at 70% of the one-repetition maximum (IRM).
Measurements:
One-repetition maximum (1 RM) and peak power for KE and LP.
Results:
LP and KE relative training force and total work were similar between groups (P > .05). However, HI generated significantly higher power during training sessions than LO for LP (3.7-fold greater, P < .001) and KE (2.1-fold greater, P < .001). Although LP and KE 1RM muscle strength increased similarly in both groups asa result of the training (P < .001), LP peak power increased significantly more in HI than in LO (267 W vs 139 W, P < .001). Furthermore, HI resulted in a significantly greater improvement in LP power at 40%, 50%, 60%,70%, 80%, and 90% of the 1 RM than did LO (P <.05).
Conclusions:
HI improved 1RM strength similarly and was more effective in improving peak power than was traditional LO in older women. Improvements in lower extremity peak power may exert a greater influence on age-associated reductions in physical functioning than other exercise interventions.
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