Effects of Body-weight Squat Training on Muscular Size, Strength and Balance Ability in Physically Frail Older Adults

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the eŠects of a 12-week group-based body-weight squat training program on muscle mass, muscle strength, and balance in physically frail community-dwelling older men and women. Fifteen older adults (mean age ＝78.7 yr) who needed assistance performing activities of daily living (ADL) according to long-term care insurance regulations in Japan participated in the study. Participants performed squat exercise in a groupsetting using body-weight as resistance while singing for one set consisting of 48 reps twice weekly for 12 weeks. Body mass, thigh girth, thigh muscle thickness assessed by B-mode ultrasound, knee extension torque (KET), static and dynamic balance (static (SB): sway velocity (SV) standing onˆrm or foam surfaces with eyes open or closed; dynamic (DB): limits of stability) were measured before and after the intervention. Following the intervention, participants signiˆcantly (P＜0.05) decreased body mass and increased KET relative to body mass. Although thigh girth did not change, thigh muscle thickness did increase. There were no appreciable changes in DB nor in SB, except SV standing on aˆrm surface with the eyes open improved. Group-based body-weight squat exercise in physically frail older adults improves muscle mass and strength but has little eŠect on balance parameters.

Effects of remote home-based exercise program on functional capacity and perceived loneliness in older adults during COVID-19 lockdown

“…The results obtained from the 30-second CST showed that the HBEG performed a higher number of repetitions than the CG (63% higher, or additional ~6 repetitions) (Figure 2A). These results are consistent with the findings of the study conducted by Fujita et al 18,20 . These authors performed 12 weeks of physical training in institutionalized older people based on squatting against own body weight.…”

“…The sitting and rising from a chair exercise was selected because the movement executed is easy and straightforward to understand and follow. This exercise program was also based on a study by Fujita et al 18 , where frail older adults engaged in a repeated sit-to-stand exercise. The authors showed that frail individuals were able to safely execute 48 complete repetitions with a short pause between bouts.…”

Association between muscle strength and health-related quality of life in a Chinese rural elderly population: a cross-sectional study

“…HRQoL has been extensively incorporated as a primary or secondary outcome in many studies 5. Previous studies have shown that elderly individuals who were physically active generally possessed a higher HRQoL than those who were more inactive,6 with others uncovering that muscle strength was related to factors like physical fitness, disability and mortality 7–9. However, studies on the association between muscle strength and HRQoL are limited, with only a relative few involving older adults in the community and using handgrip strength (without evaluating lower limb strength) as a marker of muscle strength 10 11.…”

Quadriceps muscle electromyography activity during physical activities and resistance exercise modes in younger and older adults

“…As such, there is a need to develop pragmatic and accessible RET interventions that can effectively support the maintenance or, indeed, enhancement of muscle mass, strength and function in older age ( Timmons et al, 2020 ). Elastic resistance bands (EB) and body-weight (BW) lifting are proficient methods of RET, capable of increasing muscle mass, strength and functional capacity in community-dwelling ( Fujita et al, 2016 ; Krause et al, 2019 ), institutionalized ( Fujita et al, 2019 ; Furtado et al, 2020 ), sarcopenic-obese older adults ( Liao et al, 2018 ), and older adults with cognitive impairment ( Chupel et al, 2017 ). Compared with traditional machine-based (MN) RET, EB have also been shown to generate an ‘ascending’ (or ‘linear variable’) resistance training load, providing an increasing tensile load due to the stretch properties of the EB ( Fuentes et al, 2019 ).…”