Effects of a 12-Week Cycling Intervention on Successful Aging Measures in Mid-Aged Adults

Abstract

To compare the effect of 12-weeks of cycling training and competition versus recreational cycling on successful aging across physical, psychological, cognitive, and social functioning domains in mid-aged adults. Methods: Recreational cyclists were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 13, M age = 47.18 years) and comparison (n = 13, M age = 46.91 years) group. Analysis of Covariance was used on self-reported pre-post data to determine changes across time and differences between groups on outcomes. Results: The intervention group scored higher on the role limitation due to physical problems measure of physical functioning (p = .045) and the social activity measure of social functioning (p = .008) with large effect sizes (ηp 2 > .14). The remaining physical, psychological, cognitive, and social functioning measures were not significantly different (p > .05) between groups with small to medium effect sizes (ηp 2 > .01 to ≤ .06). Conclusion: Cycling training and competition promotes better physical and social functioning than recreational cycling. This finding indicates that an intervention that incorporates the training and competition aspects of sport may promote positive outcomes that are above and beyond those that can be gained from participation in recreational physical activity. Objective measurements on larger samples across a broader range of sports are required to confirm and extend these findings.

Role Models of Aging among Older Men: Strategies for Facilitating Change and Implications for Health Promotion

“…Given that Masters athletes are often held up as exemplars of successful aging in popular press and research (e.g., [ 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 ]), we sought older men’s opinions on Masters athletes and Masters sport. While participants typically regarded Masters sport as a laudable endeavour, most of them viewed it as inappropriate for their individual circumstances, nor realistically influential in personal health-related attitude and behaviour changes.…”

“…Moreover, by not overly relying on the medicalized aspect of exemplars of aging success, there is opportunity for fewer psychological and emotional challenges when the inevitable biomedical processes associated with aging manifest [ 20 ]. Participants seemed to support this notion with their view of Masters athletes as unrealistic role models, which poses a challenge to claims that Masters athletes are exemplars of aging success found in academic literature and popular press (e.g., [ 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 ]). As argued by Dionigi and Gard [ 25 ] and Gard et al [ 21 ], the concept of Masters athletes as exemplars of successful aging is grounded on problematic ‘sport for all’ policies based on highly individualised assumptions about self-responsibility for health, which ignore social determinants of health and aging, demonise passive leisure, and disregard multiple ways of aging well.…”

Relationship between specific leisure activities and successful aging among older adults

“…For instance, Geard et al. 42 used a randomized controlled trial to examine the effect of an exercise intervention on successful aging indicators. Their study showed that 12 weeks of cycling training helped promote greater social and physical functioning among middle-aged adults aged 40 years and older.…”