Effect of small-sided team sport training and protein intake on muscle mass, physical function and markers of health in older untrained adults: A randomized trial

Abstract

The effect of small-sided team sport training and protein intake on muscle mass, physical function, and adaptations important for health in untrained older adults was examined. Forty-eight untrained older (72±6 (±standard deviation, SD) years men and women were divided into either a team sport group ingesting a drink high in protein (18 g) immediately and 3 h after each training session (TS-HP, n = 13), a team sport group ingesting an isocaloric drink with low protein content (3 g; TS-LP, n = 18), or a control group continuing their normal activities (CON, n = 17). The team sport training was performed as ~20 min of small-sided ball games twice a week over 12 weeks. After the intervention period, leg muscle mass was 0.6 kg higher (P = 0.047) in TS-HP, with no effect in TS-LP. In TS-HP, number of sit-to-stand repetitions increased (1.2±0.6, P = 0.054), time to perform 2.45 m up-and-go was lower (0.7±0.3 s, P = 0.03) and number of arm curl repetitions increased (3.5±1.2, P = 0.01), whereas in TS-LP only number of repetitions in sit-to-stand was higher (1.6±0.6, P = 0.01). In TS-LP, reductions were observed in total and abdominal fat mass (1.2±0.5 and 0.4±0.2 kg, P = 0.03 and P = 0.02, respectively), heart rate at rest (9±3 bpm, P = 0.002) and plasma C-reactive protein (1.8±0.8 mmol/L, P = 0.03), with no effects in TS-HP. Thus, team sport training improves functional capacity of untrained older adults and increases leg muscle mass only when ingesting proteins after training. Furthermore, team sport training followed by intake of drink with low protein content does lower fat mass, heart rate at rest and level of systemic inflammation.Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov NCT03120143

Health Effects of 12 Weeks of Team-Sport Training and Fitness Training in a Community Health Centre for Sedentary Men with Lifestyle Diseases

“…Average HR and time spent with HR above 90%HR max are somewhat lower in TsG than seen in several intervention studies using comparable activities [ 4 , 13 , 21 , 28 , 29 ]. A key difference between the present study and these studies is the smaller pitch size of 10 × 10 m. Some studies on untrained individuals have shown physiological effects after small-sided activities with small pitch sizes (~10 × 10 m) [ 22 , 30 ]. But a small pitch size limits the possibility of running with high speed, which may have caused the overall intensity to be lower than expected.…”

Effect of a 26-month floorball training on male elderly's cardiovascular fitness, glucose control, body composition, and functional capacity

“…Thus, ingesting protein immediately and 3 h after small-sided ball training has been shown to promote gain in muscle mass in older individuals. 42 It is possible that muscle hypertrophy would have been induced if the subjects had ingested proteins after the floorball training during the follow-up period. However, the diet of the subjects in the floorball group was not controlled, nor was it recorded, so it remains unknown to what extent protein was ingested immediately after training sessions.…”

The exercise timing hypothesis: can exercise training compensate for the reduction in blood vessel function after menopause if timed right?

“…; Vorup et al . ). In women at older age, however, there are limited and conflicting data on a positive effect of exercise training on cardiac (Spina et al .…”

“…The main question we raise in this review is whether there may be a similar aspect of timing of exercise training after menopause: the exercise timing hypothesis. Regular exercise training is clearly beneficial for men at all ages and numerous studies have shown that men up to very old age profit from training in terms of vascular and cardiac function (Schmidt et al 2014;Vorup et al 2017). In women at older age, however, there are limited and conflicting data on a positive effect of exercise training on cardiac (Spina et al 1993;Egelund et al 2017) and vascular function (Pierce et al 2011a;Moreau et al 2013;Nyberg et al 2016;Seidelin et al 2017).…”