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Improving Strength, Power, Muscle Aerobic Capacity, and Glucose Tolerance through Short-term Progressive Strength Training Among Elderly People
Published on: July 5, 2017
Six months of resistance training improves heart rate variability in the elderly
Matteus Dinis Oliveira1, Perciliany Martins de Souza2, Aparecida Patricia Guimarães3
1Physical Education Department, Physical Education School, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Abstract:
Heart rate variability is a non-invasive method of assessing global health through the analysis of the autonomous centralnervous system, including both the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of resistance training on heart rate variability at rest in elderly individuals undergoing six months of resistance training with progressive loads. Training reduced the body fat percentage of the volunteers (pre: 39.39 ± 7.21 vs post: 34.97 ± 6.40%; p = 0.0069). There was also a significant reduction in the low-frequency index (pre: 69621.50 ± 9817.28 vs post: 54210.50 ± 14903.94; p = 0.0322) and a significant increase in the high-frequency index (pre: 30308.00 ± 9857.86 vs post: 45627.10 ± 14838.80; p = 0.0326). We concluded that sixmonths of resistance training with progressive loads were beneficial for heart rate variability and reduced the body fat percentage in the elderly.
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