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BODY COMPOSITION CHANGES DURING 16 WEEKS OF HIGH VELOCITY TRAINING IN OLDER ADULTS

Abstract

S. Smith, B. Hamill, T. Taylor, J. Wright, M. Powers, & P. House. University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, OK

Body composition plays a key role in physical functioning and health of older adults. As individuals age, lean tissue mass (LTM) decreases and fat mass (FM) increases. It is imperative to find the optimal training intensity to reduce these changes. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of high velocity resistance training at two different training intensities (30% & 60%1RM) on body composition of older adults. The researchers hypothesized that LTM would increase and FM would decrease more in the 60% group than the 30% group. METHODS: Participants over the age of 65 trained two days per week completing three sets of eight repetitions of eight exercises representing a total body workout. The participants were randomly assigned to either the 30% 1RM group (n = 4) or the 60%1RM group (n = 9). Body composition was measured using a Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (iDXA) before and after the 16-week training intervention. RESULTS:LTM showed a significant time x group interaction (F (1,6) = 5.96, p = 0.05). LTM increased by 1.15% in the 30% group while decreasing by 1.31% in the 60% group. No significant interactions or main effects for FM were found. CONCLUSION: Overall, the 30% group resulted in more improvements in body composition than the 60% group. The lack of greater increases in LTM could suggest that participants already had high levels of LTM. Furthermore, it would appear that greater acceleration of the mass might provide a greater stimulus for LTM gains than increasing the training intensity for the population.

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