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A COMPARISON OF HIGH- AND LOW-VELOCITY RESISTANCE TRAINING: IMPACT ON BALANCE CONFIDENC AND EXERCISE SELF-EFFICACY

Abstract

Cody Sodowsky, Antonio Ross, Melissa Powers & Paul House; University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, OK

Falls are currently a considerable health problem among the elderly population. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine if high-velocity resistance training improves balance confidence and exercise self-efficacy more than low-velocity resistance training. It was expected that high-velocity training would have a greater impact on balance confidence and exercise-self efficacy than low-velocity training. METHODS: A group of 14 participants (age 71 ± 6 years) were randomly assigned to a high-velocity (HV) or low-velocity (LV) resistance training group. The HV group was instructed to lift the weight “as quickly as possible”, and then lower over 2-3 seconds. The LV group lifted the weight over a 2-3 second period and lowered over 2-3 seconds. The participants trained for 12 weeks at 60% of 1-repetition maximum. The subjects completed eight exercises that targeted all major muscle groups. The Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale and the Self-efficacy for Exercise Scale were administered at baseline, 6-weeks, and 12 weeks. Repeated measures ANOVA were used to analyze differences between groups over time. RESULTS: Researchers found no significant interaction or main effects for balance confidence or exercise self-efficacy (p > .05). Due to the small sample size, univariate effect sizes were calculated for each variable. A small decrease in balance confidence occurred over the 12 weeks (d = 0.30), while a moderately large effect was observed for exercise self-efficacy (d = 0.81). CONCLUSION: In this study, both high and low velocity resistance training resulted in a slight decline in balance confidence and exercise self-efficacy. The decline may be due to the fact that participants were high functioning and began with high levels of confidence and self-efficacy. The resistance training intervention may have made participants more aware of their balance and activity limitations. Some of the limitations of this study include high functioning participants, small sample size, and short time frame of the study (12 weeks).

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