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Cardiorespiratory Benefit Of Aerobic Exercise Applies To Older Patients Too

High- or low-intensity resistance exercise can significantly improve cardiorespiratory endurance in older patients.

Increased levels of cardiorespiratory endurance are associated with decreased rates of disease and mortality. "These are the first data that demonstrate improved aerobic power in healthy elderly subjects following both low- and high-intensity resistance training regimens," United States researchers say.

"Resistance exercise should be incorporated into a comprehensive exercise regimen to increase muscular strength, cardiorespiratory endurance and physical function."

Investigators from the University of Florida and the Veterans Administration Hospital in Gainesville assessed the beneficial effects of six months of such training in older people. They enrolled 62 healthy adults aged from 60 to 83 years in either low- or high-intensity resistance exercise regimens.

Participants were matched for strength and then randomly assigned to one of three groups. Sixteen men and women were assigned to a control group, 24 to low-intensity exercise and 22 to high-intensity exercise.

Participants in the low-intensity group trained at 50 percent of their one repetition maximum for 13 repetitions while those in the high-intensity group trained at 80 percent of their one repetition maximum for eight repetitions. Members of both groups trained three times a week for 24 weeks.

The researchers report that participants in both exercise groups increased their one repetition maximum for each of the exercises tested.

Aerobic capacity increased by 23.5 percent for the low intensity participants and by 20.1 percent for the high-intensity subjects. People in the low-intensity group increased their treadmill time by 26.4 percent. High-intensity participants increased theirs by 23.3 percent.

"Increased strength, as a consequence of resistance exercise training, may allow older adults to reach and/or improve their aerobic capacity," the researchers concluded.

They suggest that improvement in cardiorespiratory endurance from aerobic exercise may be due to increased oxidative enzyme activities. It may also result from increased leg strength. Increased leg strength in turn may allow people to train at greater intensity or for longer duration - which also leads to improved aerobic capacity.

The investigators note research has demonstrated similar findings in younger adults. This indicates that aerobic adaptations to resistance exercise could be influenced by age and conditioning.

"Therefore, it seems likely that improvements in aerobic capacity and endurance would be greater in people who are more de-conditioned, such as frail elderly people or patients rehabilitating from illness," they say.
Archives of Internal Medicine, 2002; 162: 673-678.

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