Physical exercise is seen as the main ally for health promotion, preventing and protecting the organism from several diseases. According to WHO, there is a tendency of constant growth in the elderly population in the coming years. The regular practice of exercises by the elderly becomes relevant to minimize the deleterious effects of the aging process and to increase the fitness index. Recently, the world population started a confrontation against Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19), which is the most significant public health challenge globally. Although social isolation is a reasonable measure in an attempt to stop contamination by COVID-19, this measure has limited the ability of individuals to exercise outdoors or in gyms and health clubs, which increased the risk of developing chronic illnesses related to a sedentary lifestyle. The critical point is that the recent recommendations on exercise prescription to combat the potentially harmful effects of COVID-19 failure to adequately address resistance exercise interventions as home-based exercise strategy. Thus, in this paper, we discussed the physical exercise as medicine if the training status is enough to protect the elderly against COVID-19 infection, about the role of physical activity on immunosuppression. Possible risks for COVID-19 infection, and the old training methods, such as no-load resistance training as possible resistance exercise strategies and high-intensity interval training, as new proposals of home-based exercise interventions, could perform during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

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The aim of this review is to demonstrate the effects of cardiovascular interval training (IT) on healthy elderly subjects. We used the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The following variables were observed: resting heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MBP), heart rate variability (HRV), baroreflex activity (BA), and maximal oxygen uptake (VO 2max). Studies were searched for in the MedLine, PubMed, and Sport Discus databases considering publications between 1990 and 2019. To find the studies, the keywords used were "Interval and Elderly Training" or "Interval Training and Baroreflex Sensing" or "Interval Training and Aging and Pressure Arterial and Blood Pressure Training" or "Interval Training and Variation in Aging and Heart Rate" or "Interval Training and Sensitivity to the Elderly and Baroreflex" or "Interval Training and Variability in the Elderly and Heart Rate." The systematic search identified 1,140 hits. The analysis of the study was performed through a critical review of the content. One thousand one hundred forty articles were identified. Of these, 1,108 articles were excluded by checking the articles and abstracts. Finally, 32 studies were selected for full reading while 26 studies were eliminated because they did not contain a methodology according to the purpose of this review. Thus, six studies were included for the final analysis. The PEDro score was used for analyzing the study quality and found 4,8 ± 1,3 points (range: 3-6). Positive results were found with the different IT protocols in the observed variables. Results show that IT protocols can be an efficient method for functional improvement of cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory variables in the healthy elderly, especially HR, SBP, DBP, MAP, HRV, BA, and VO 2max. However, this method can be included in the prescription of aerobic training for the elderly to obtain conditional improvements in the cardiovascular system, thus being an important clinical intervention for the public.

Issues regarding the human aging process have become the focus of discussions and investigations around the world. Inevitably, this process is associated with physiological changes such as modifications in body composition that are related to progressive declines in the biological function as well as the presence of chronic and locomotor impairment conditions, which besides life-threatening risk, pose a challenge to the elderly independence and autonomy. The proposal of an active aging has been strengthened with training programs that seek to improve physical fitness. There are several factors that comprise physical conditioning such as: aerobic resistance, body composition; muscular strength, localized muscular endurance, neuromotor abilities and flexibility, which are important components to maintain the independence of the elderly, since there is direct influence on the functional autonomy. Within these components, the musculoskeletal system is considered the core of the elderly physical health, which consists of three major pillars: muscular strength, aerobic resistance and flexibility. Although there are a considerable number of tests that evaluate physical conditioning, intending to optimize and facilitate the diagnostic evaluations for a satisfactory prescription, it was necessary to compile a battery of tests that contemplated variables of the physical fitness of the elderly to enhance evaluation, prescription and supervision of the exercise programs proposed by health professionals. With this in mind, the Latin American Maturity Development Group (GDLAM) sought to associate a battery of tests that could approximate the reality of activities performed in daily life. From this compilation of tests, it was possible to measure the physical fitness index and functional capacity of the active elderly population.

Training-intensity distribution (TID) is considered the key factor to optimize performance in endurance sports. This systematic review aimed to: I) characterize the TID typically used by middle-and long-distance runners; II) compare the effect of different types of TID on endurance performance and its physiological determinants; III) determine the extent to which different TID quantification methods can calculate same TID outcomes from a given training program. The keywords and search strategy identified 20 articles in the research databases. These articles demonstrated differences in the quantification of the different training-intensity zones among quantification methods (i. e. session-rating of perceived exertion, heart rate, blood lactate, race pace, and running speed). The studies that used greater volumes of low-intensity training such as those characterized by pyramidal and polarized TID approaches, reported greater improvements in endurance performance than those which used a threshold TID. Thus, it seems that the combination of high-volume at low-intensity (≥ 70% of overall training volume) and low-volume at threshold and high-intensity interval training (≤ 30%) is necessary to optimize endurance training adaptations in middle-and long-distance runners. Moreover, monitoring training via multiple mechanisms that systematically encompasses objective and subjective TID quantification methods can help coaches/researches to make better decisions.

CrossFit® training is one of the fastest-growing fitness activities in the world due to its varied functional movement and competition experience. The performance is present in almost every workout of the day (WOD); however, there is a lack of knowledge in the science that did not allow us to fully understand the performance determinants of CrossFit WOD’s like we do for other individual or team sports. The purpose of this study was to analyze the physical and physiological variables of recreational trained CrossFit athletes during one of the most famous WOD, FRAN, and to identify which variables best determine performance. Methods: Fifteen CrossFit practitioners performed, alone on separate days, 1RM and a maximum of repetitions of pull-ups test, 1RM and a maximum of repetitions of thrusters with 95 lb/43.2 kg, FRAN CrossFit WOD, and 2K Row test. Results: Blood lactate concentrate, HRmáx, HRav, and RPE achieved higher values for 2K Row and maximum repetitions of thrusters. Maximum repetition of thrusters and pull-ups, 1RM of thrusters, and 2K Row resulted in moderate to strong correlation with FRAN performance (r = −0.78; r = −0.58; r = −0.67; r = 0.63, respectively). Conclusions and practical applications: FRAN performance was strongly related to maximal and endurance strength training of thrusters, which should be prioritized.

Introdução: Com o avanço da idade, dentre as modificações nas diversas funcionalidades influenciadas pelo envelhecimento, destacam-se alterações na capacidade funcional e no sistema cardiovascular. Objetivo: Verificar as variáveis cardiovasculares de idosos inseridos em diferentes modalidades físicas. Métodos: 40 idosos, sendo 20 homens e 20 mulheres (68,8 ± 7,0 anos, 77,9 ± 12,6 kg, 1,67 ± 0,09 m e IMC 27,78 ± 4,2 kg/m²), subdivididos em 4 grupos: Grupo Caminhada, Grupo Hidroginástica, Grupo Musculação e Grupo Controle, em que ambos os grupos foram compostos por 5 homens e 5 mulheres. Verificou-se (10 minutos em repouso) a frequência cardíaca, variabilidade da frequência cardíaca, pressão arterial sistólica e diastólica, e o duplo produto. Resultados: Nenhuma diferença significativa entre os dados investigados foi encontrada, demonstrando assim um comportamento igualitário das variáveis cardiovasculares entre os grupos, em patamares adequados e aceitáveis. Conclusão: Não verificamos diferenças no repouso, entre os grupos de exercício e em relação ao controle.Palavras-chave: idosos, variáveis cardiovasculares, modalidades físicas.

Background: Interval training is a method with high acceptance in prescription to increase health and can be an essential intervener in improving cardiovascular function. Objective: This study aimed to verify the effects of eight weeks of interval training with different intensities on hemodynamic and autonomic function, which were assessed through resting heart rate, blood pressure, dual product, and heart rate variability. Methods: The sample consisted of 24 older men (age: 68.8 ± 6.8 years, body mass: 74.4 ± 18.1 kg, height: 1.70 ± 0.8 m; BMI: 25.1 ± 2, 2) who were physically active. Participants were randomized into 3 experimental groups: training group A (TGA, n = 8), training group B (TGB, n = 8) and control group (CG, n = 8). For trained groups, interventions were developed twice a week for eight weeks, with an interval of 48 hours between the sessions. The evaluations were carried out at the pre (baseline) and after the eighth week of intervention. The control group did not perform any intervention. The variables were analyzed for 10 minutes with subjects at rest in the sitting position before and after the intervention. Statistics with a significance level of p <0.05 were applied. Results: After the intervention, no statistically significant results were found in the variables assessed (p> 0.05). Conclusion: The intervention was not sufficient to promote statistical differences in hemodynamic and autonomic variables.