One Year of Heavy Resistance Training Modifies Muscle Fiber
                    Characteristics in the Elderly

Anne Theil Gates; Michael Kjaer; Jesper Loevind Andersen

doi:10.1055/a-2338-8226

Sports Medicine International Open, Table of Contents

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Sports Med Int Open 2024; 08: a23388226
DOI: 10.1055/a-2338-8226

Training & Testing

One Year of Heavy Resistance Training Modifies Muscle Fiber Characteristics in the Elderly

Anne Theil Gates

¹Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Copenhagen University Hospital, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Bispebjerg Hospital Institute of Sports Medicine Copenhagen, 2400 Copenhagen NV, Denmark

²Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, University of Copenhagen Center for Healthy Aging, 2200 Copenhagen NV, Denmark

,

Michael Kjaer

¹Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Copenhagen University Hospital, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Bispebjerg Hospital Institute of Sports Medicine Copenhagen, 2400 Copenhagen NV, Denmark

³Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, University of Copenhagen Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, 2200 Copenhagen NV, Denmark

,

Jesper Loevind Andersen

¹Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Copenhagen University Hospital, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Bispebjerg Hospital Institute of Sports Medicine Copenhagen, 2400 Copenhagen NV, Denmark

› Author Affiliations

Abstract

Physical function declines with age, accelerating during the 6th decade of life, primarily due to loss in muscle mass and strength. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of one year of heavy resistance training in older adults (62–70 years) on muscle mass and strength. Further, we investigated muscle characteristics after the intervention by obtaining muscle biopsies from the vastus lateralis to compare muscle fiber characteristics between the heavy resistance training (HRT) (n=10) and the sedentary control group (CON) (n=10). We found that one year of resistance training increased isometric muscle strength (p<0.0001, ES: 2.43 (Hedges’ g)) and lean body mass (p<0.05, ES: 0.96), whereas cross-sectional area of the vastus lateralis and lean leg mass were unaltered. At year 1, the percentage of type IIX muscle fibers was lower in HRT compared to CON (p<0.05, ES: 0.99), whereas the muscle fiber size did not differ between groups for the major fiber types (I and II). In conclusion, one year of resistance training in elderly improved muscle strength and lean body mass but not cross-sectional area and lean leg mass. This indicates that the increase in muscle strength may be caused by neuromuscular adaptations rather than morphological muscle tissue changes per se.

Keywords

aging - physical function - strength training - hypertrophy

Bibliographical Record
Anne Theil Gates, Michael Kjaer, Jesper Loevind Andersen. One Year of Heavy Resistance Training Modifies Muscle Fiber Characteristics in the Elderly. Sports Med Int Open 2024; 08: a23388226.
DOI: 10.1055/a-2338-8226

Full Text

References

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