Physical exercise is considered an important intervention for promoting well-being and healthy aging. The objective was to determine the effects of moderate-to-high intensity resistance circuit training on different parameters of body composition, functional autonomy, muscular strength and quality of life in elderly. A randomized controlled trial was conducted. A total of 45 subjects (27 females, 18 males) aged between 65–75 years old from Murcia (Spain) were divided by sex, and randomly to experimental group (n = 33, mean age 69 ± 3.2 years old) receiving 12 weeks of moderate-to-high intensity resistance circuit training and control group (n = 33, mean age 70 ± 4.1 years old) receiving no exercise intervention. Intra-group comparison, the experimental group showed a significant increment of lean body mass in women and men, which also presented a decrease of fat mass. Both sex presented a significant improve in functional autonomy, and significately higher values of muscular strength. But no changes were observed regarding quality of life in these groups. The control group did not show any differences pre and post-intervention in women, but in men presented an increment of body mass index and total weight post-intervention. No changes were showed in the other variables. Similar results were founded at inter-group comparison. The moderate-to-high intensity resistance circuit training showed increase in total lean body mass, improvements in functional capacity and significantly increase in upper and lower muscular strength in women and men. Progressive resistance circuit training should be promoted for the elderly as it has the potential to improve physical performance, thereby prolonging healthy independent aging.

Many authors are interested in the effects that a specific exercise program could have on sagittal spinal curvatures. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of different exercise programs on thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordotic angle. This meta-analysis adhered to the PRISMA guideline and it was registered at PROSPERO. Five electronic databases (Pub Med, Cochrane, WOS, PEDro and EBSCO) were searched up to 31 July 2018. Eligible studies were randomized controlled trials that applied an exercise intervention and measured a kyphosis and/or lordotic angle. Study quality was performance by PEDro score. Risk of bias was assessed using the SIGN 50 checklist for randomized controlled trials. External validity was assessed using the EVAT. Ten randomized controlled trials were included for systematic review and meta-analysis. Meta-analysis with a random effect model was performed to infer the pooled estimated standardized mean difference. All studies were RCTs and they involved a total of 284 cases and 255 controls. Seven studies measured kyphosis angle. A large significant effect of the exercise on kyphosis was identified (SMD = -1.400 (95% CI-2.150 a -0.660), p = 0.000). Four studies assessed lordotic angle and moderate but not significant improvement was shown (SMD = -0.530 (95% CI-1.760 a -0.700), p = 0.401). The results suggest that exercise programs may have a positive effect on thoracic kyphosis angle, but no clear effect on lordotic angle. This systematic review suggests that strengthening rather than stretching could be more relevant for kyphosis and both qualities are important for lordosis. It is necessary to conduct more randomized controlled trials to assess the effects of strengthening and/or stretching program on kyphosis and lordotic angle and to establish the type of the exercise that is better for maintaining the sagittal disposition within normal ranges.

BackgroundMovement velocity has been proposed as an effective tool to prescribe the load during resistance training in young healthy adults. This study aimed to elucidate whether movement velocity could also be used to estimate the relative load (i.e., % of the one-repetition maximum (1RM)) in older women.MethodsA total of 22 older women (age = 68.2 ± 3.6 years, bench press 1RM = 22.3 ± 4.7 kg, leg press 1RM = 114.6 ± 15.9 kg) performed an incremental loading test during the free-weight bench press and the leg press exercises on two separate sessions. The mean velocity (MV) was collected with a linear position transducer.ResultsA strong linear relationship between MV and the relative load was observed for the bench press (%1RM = −130.4 MV + 119.3;r2= 0.827, standard error of the estimate (SEE) = 6.10%1RM,p< 0.001) and leg press exercises (%1RM = −158.3 MV + 131.4;r2= 0.913, SEE = 5.63%1RM,p< 0.001). No significant differences were observed between the bench press and leg press exercises for the MV attained against light-medium relative loads (≤70%1RM), while the MV associated with heavy loads (≥80%1RM) was significantly higher for the leg press.ConclusionsThese results suggest that the monitoring of MV could be useful to prescribe the loads during resistance training in older women. However, it should be noted that the MV associated with a given %1RM is significantly lower in older women compared to young healthy individuals.

The revised European consensus defined sarcopenia as a progressive and generalized skeletal muscle disorder that is associated with an increased likelihood of adverse outcomes including falls, fractures, physical disability and mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of sarcopenia and analyse the influence of diet, physical activity (PA) and obesity index as risk factors of each criteria of sarcopenia. A total of 629 European middle-aged and older adults were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Anthropometrics were assessed. Self-reported PA and adherence to the Mediterranean diet were evaluated with the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) and Prevention with Mediterranean Diet questionnaire (PREDIMED), respectively. The functional assessment included handgrip strength, lower body muscle strength, gait speed and agility/dynamic balance. Of the participants, 4.84% to 7.33% showed probable sarcopenia. Sarcopenia was confirmed in 1.16% to 2.93% of participants. Severe sarcopenia was shown by 0.86% to 1.49% of participants. Male; age group ≤65 years; lower body mass index (BMI); high levels of vigorous PA; and the consumption of more than one portion per day of red meat, hamburgers, sausages or cold cuts and/or preferential consumption of rabbit, chicken or turkey instead of beef, pork, hamburgers or sausages (OR = 0.126–0.454; all p < 0.013) resulted as protective factors, and more time of sedentary time (OR = 1.608–2.368; p = 0.032–0.041) resulted as a risk factor for some criteria of sarcopenia. In conclusion, age, diet, PA, and obesity can affect the risk of having low muscle strength, low muscle mass or low functional performance, factors connected with sarcopenia.