Weight training aids elderly women

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Oct, 1996

Thirty subjects ranging in age from 67 to 84 recently participated in a University of Toledo and Toledo Hospital study on the effects of weight training on elderly women. "This study [had] two primary objectives - to examine the effects of weight training on functional capacity, for example, balance and walking gait, and to determine whether high-intensity exercise like weight training suppresses the immune system," explains Michael G. Flynn, associate professor of health promotion and human performance.

For the 10-week research project, 15 subjects were placed in a non-exercise group as a control while the other 15 worked out three times a week. Those in the exercise group warmed up with a five-minute stint on either the treadmill or the stationary bike and then stretching exercises, followed by two or three sets of eight different leg and hip exercises.

Some of the women who worked out showed 200% increases in strength during the study, depending on the exercise. For instance, after six weeks of training, they were able to lift 75 pounds during leg raises, 100 pounds for calf raises, and 40 pounds for leg extensions.

To assess how weight training influences the biomechanics of movement, videotapes of the subjects are being analyzed by computer. "We're studying the effects of the training on functional activities, specifically walking, stepping over an obstacle, rising from a chair, and maintaining balance. We're interested in these because they're activities that elderly people have difficulty with and they're activities that are particularly related to an individual's level of strength," indicates Charles W. Armstrong, professor of health promotion and human performance "We're fairly confident that improved strength can help an individual perform better in all of these areas. But we need to know if there are any short-term negative side effects, and our research will show this."