Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 3, 2026
Improving Strength, Power, Muscle Aerobic Capacity, and Glucose Tolerance through Short-term Progressive Strength Training Among Elderly People
Published on: July 5, 2017
Short-term, light- to moderate-intensity exercise training improves leg muscle strength in the oldest old: a
José A Serra-Rexach1, Natalia Bustamante-Ara, Margarita Hierro Villarán
1Geriatric Department, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain. jserra.hgugm@salud.madrid.org
Objectives:
To assess the effects of an 8-week exercise training program with a special focus on light- to moderate-intensity resistance exercises (30-70% of one repetition maximum, 1RM) and a subsequent 4-week training cessation period (detraining) on muscle strength and functional capacity in participants aged 90 and older.
Design:
Randomized controlled trial performed during March to September 2009.
Setting:
Geriatric nursing home.
Participants:
Forty nonagenarians (90-97) were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group (16 women and 4 men per group).
Intervention:
Eight-week muscle strength exercise intervention focused on lower limb strength exercises of light to moderate intensity.
Primary Outcome:
1RM leg press.
Secondary Outcomes:
handgrip strength, 8-m walk test, 4-step stairs test, Timed Up and Go test, and number of falls.
Results:
A significant group by time interaction effect (P=.02) was observed only for the 1RM leg press. In the intervention group, 1RM leg press increased significantly with training by 10.6 kg [95% confidence interval (CI)=4.1-17.1 kg; P=.01]. Except for the mean group number of falls, which were 1.2 falls fewer per participant in the intervention group (95% CI=0.0-3.0; P=.03), no significant training effect on the secondary outcome measures was found.
Conclusion:
Exercise training, even of short duration and light to moderate intensity, can increase muscle strength while decreasing fall risk in nonagenarians.
