The Effects of a Calisthenics and a Light Strength Training Program on Lower Limb Muscle Strength and Body Composition in Mature Women

Abstract

This study evaluated and compared the effectiveness of an aerobics-calisthenics (A-CAL) and an aerobics/weight training (A-WT) programs on lower limb strength and body fat (%). Thirty-five adult women (age 42.1 +/- 5.2 years) were randomly assigned to A-CAL (n = 14), A-WT (n = 14), or a control group (n = 7). The A-CAL and A-WT trained 3 days per week for 10 weeks. Maximal bilateral isometric and isokinetic knee extension (KEXT) and flexion (KFLEX) torque, squat jump (SJ), and body fat (%) were measured before and immediately after training. The results revealed nonsignificant differences between A-CAL and A-WT (p > 0.05). Both A-CAL and A-WT improved SJ (p < 0.001). A-WT increased isometric torque of KEXT and KFLEX (p < 0.05), isokinetic torque of KFLEX (p < 0.05), and decreased body fat (%) (p < 0.05) when compared with controls. In summary, the application of a 10-week light-weight training program improved selected strength parameters of healthy women, compared with controls, but the effectiveness of the calisthenics exercises as an independent form of strength training is dubious.

Health-Promoting Effects of Serial vs. Integrated Combined Strength and Aerobic Training

“…Lower body muscle strength and power: Vertical jumping performance was assessed using the squat jump test (SJ) with a force-platform (Bertec Corp., Worthington, OH), as previously described by Tsourlou et al [38]. The isokinetic peak torque of knee extensors and knee flexors muscles was also measured [38] using a Cybex Norm dynamometer. The isokinetic protocol included 5 maximal concentric and eccentric knee extension and flexion efforts at angular velocity of 60 o /s.…”

“…There are 2 forms of combined training programs: the serial method (strength loading is completed prior to aerobic in each training session or vise-versa) and the integrated method (aerobic and strength routines are altered repeatedly during the training session) [6][7][8]. The numerous studies in young and only a few in middle-aged and elderly individuals that examined the effects of either serial or integrated combined training programs on indices of physical fitness and health have reported improvements [13,24,28,37,38] or no change [14,33,36,38] on cardiovascular and neuromuscular performances and on body composition profile. Thus, the efficacy of serial or integrated combined training programs on indices of health and physical fitness, particularly in untrained middle-aged individuals, should be further investigated.…”

Whole-body vibration training in middle-aged females: improving muscle flexibility and the power of lower limbs

“…VJ was assessed using the squat jump (SJ) and the countermovement jump (CMJ) tests with a force-platform (Bertec Corp., Worthington, OH, USA). Briefly, following three familiarization trials, the participants performed three maximal trials for each type of jump with a rest period of 60 s [16,17]. The best performance on each type of jump was considered for analysis [16,17].…”

“…All tests were performed from the seated position with a hip flexed at 90°and the participants' arms crossed over their chest [17]. Velcro straps were used to stabilize the trunk, waist, and thigh of the tested leg.…”

“…Only the preferred leg was tested as other studies have established no significant difference in force output between the two legs. The isokinetic protocol included five maximal concentric knee extension and flexion efforts at angular velocity of 60°/s [17]. The range of motion for knee flexion was set from 0°(full extension) to 90°.…”