Heterogeneity of physical function responses to exercise training in older adults.
Open accessAbstract
Objectives: To describe the interindividual variability in physical function responses to supervised resistance and aerobic exercise training interventions in older adults. Design: Data analysis of two randomized, controlled exercise trials. Setting: Community‐based research centers. Participants: Overweight and obese (body mass index ( BMI ) ≥27.0 kg/m 2 ) sedentary men and women aged 65 to 79 (N = 95). Intervention: Five months of 4 d/wk of aerobic training ( AT , n = 40) or 3 d/wk of resistance training ( RT , n = 55). Measurements: Physical function assessments: global measure of lower extremity function (Short Physical Performance Battery ( SPPB )), 400‐m walk, peak aerobic capacity ( VO 2 peak), and knee extensor strength. Results: On average, both exercise interventions significantly improved physical function. For AT , there was a 7.9% increase in VO 2 peak; individual absolute increases varied from 0.4 to 4.3 mL /kg per minute, and four participants (13%) showed no change or a decrease in VO 2 peak. For RT , knee extensor strength improved an average of 8.1%; individual increases varied from 1.2 to 63.7 Nm, and 16 participants (30%) showed no change or a decrease in strength. Usual gait speed, 400‐m walk time, chair rise time, and SPPB improved for the majority of AT participants and usual gait speed, chair rise time, and SPPB improved for the majority of RT participants, but there was wide variation in the magnitude of improvement. Only change in 400‐m walk time with RT was related to exercise adherence (correlation coefficient = −0.31, P = .004). Conclusion: Despite sufficient levels of adherence to both exercise interventions, some participants did not improve function, and the magnitude of improvement varied widely. Additional research is needed to identify factors that optimize responsiveness to exercise to maximize its functional benefits in older adults.
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Strength training is recommended in older adults to improve physical function.
“Strength training is recommended in older adults to improve physical function.7,8,9,10”
From Comparison of Power Training vs Traditional Strength Training on Physical Function in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (2022) · cites this paper as [7]
There is considerable within-individual and between-individual heterogeneity in acute psychophysiological responses to the same acute physical exercises and in long-term adaptations to the same physical training.
“Since every human is unique, there is a considerable amount of within-individual (intra-individual) (Katch et al., 1982; Coggan and Costill, 1984; Bagger et al., 2003; Skurvydas et al., 2010; Faude et al., 2017; Chrzanowski-Smith et al., 2019; Voisin et al., 2019) and between-individual (interindividual) heterogeneity (Karavirta et al., 2011; Chmelo et al., 2015; Bonafiglia et al., 2016; Greenham”
From Dose-Response Matters! - A Perspective on the Exercise Prescription in Exercise-Cognition Research (2019) · cites this paper as Chmelo et al., 2015
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- Authors
- Chmelo, E. A., Crotts, C. I., Newman, J. C., Brinkley, T. E., Lyles, M. F., Leng, X., Marsh, A. P., & Nicklas, B. J.
- Affiliations
- Wake Forest University Health Sciences (US)
- Wake Forest University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Chmelo, Elizabeth A.
- Venue
- Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2015-03
- Volume
- 63
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 462-469
- ISSN
- 0002-8614 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-5415
- PMC
- PMC4373970
- OpenAlex
- W2079690855
- Cited by
- 110
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 4
- FWCI
- 26.16
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (R01HL093713)
- National Institute on Aging (R01AG020583)
- Wake Forest University Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (P30AG21332)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Nutrition and Health in Aging
- Keywords
- physical function, exercise training response, interindividual variability, resistance training, aerobic exercise, older adults, overweight and obesity, sedentary aging, Short Physical Performance Battery, peak oxygen uptake, quadriceps strength, walking speed, exercise adherence
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Female, Humans, Male, Exercise, Geriatric Assessment, Resistance Training
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