Original Study
There Are No Nonresponders to Resistance-Type Exercise Training in Older Men and Women

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2015.01.071Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective

To assess the proposed prevalence of unresponsiveness of older men and women to augment lean body mass, muscle fiber size, muscle strength, and/or physical function following prolonged resistance-type exercise training.

Design/Setting/Participants

A retrospective analysis of the adaptive response to 12 (n = 110) and 24 (n = 85) weeks of supervised resistance-type exercise training in older (>65 years) men and women.

Measurements

Lean body mass (DXA), type I and type II muscle fiber size (biopsy), leg strength (1-RM on leg press and leg extension), and physical function (chair-rise time) were assessed at baseline, and after 12 and 24 weeks of resistance-type exercise training.

Results

Lean body mass increased by 0.9 ± 0.1 kg (range: −3.3 to +5.4 kg; P < .001) from 0 to 12 weeks of training. From 0 to 24 weeks, lean body mass increased by 1.1 ± 0.2 kg (range: −1.8 to +9.2 kg; P < .001). Type I and II muscle fiber size increased by 324 ± 137 μm2 (range: −4458 to +3386 μm2; P = .021), and 701 ± 137 μm2 (range: −4041 to +3904 μm2; P < .001) from 0 to 12 weeks. From 0 to 24 weeks, type I and II muscle fiber size increased by 360 ± 157 μm2 (range: −3531 to +3426 μm2; P = .026) and 779 ± 161 μm2 (range: −2728 to +3815 μm2; P < .001). The 1-RM strength on the leg press and leg extension increased by 33 ± 2 kg (range: −36 to +87 kg; P < .001) and 20 ± 1 kg (range: −22 to +56 kg; P < .001) from 0 to 12 weeks. From 0 to 24 weeks, leg press and leg extension 1-RM increased by 50 ± 3 kg (range: −28 to +145 kg; P < .001) and 29 ± 2 kg (range: −19 to +60 kg; P < .001). Chair-rise time decreased by 1.3 ± 0.4 seconds (range: +21.6 to −12.5 seconds; P = .003) from 0 to 12 weeks. From 0 to 24 weeks, chair-rise time decreased by 2.3 ± 0.4 seconds (range: +10.5 to −23.0 seconds; P < .001). Nonresponsiveness was not apparent in any subject, as a positive adaptive response on at least one training outcome was apparent in every subject.

Conclusions

A large heterogeneity was apparent in the adaptive response to prolonged resistance-type exercise training when changes in lean body mass, muscle fiber size, strength, and physical function were assessed in older men and women. The level of responsiveness was strongly affected by the duration of the exercise intervention, with more positive responses following more prolonged exercise training. We conclude that there are no nonresponders to the benefits of resistance-type exercise training on lean body mass, fiber size, strength, or function in the older population. Consequently, resistance-type exercise should be promoted without restriction to support healthy aging in the older population.

Section snippets

Participants

The participant population included healthy,16, 18 prefrail, and frail older17 men and woman (>65 years). Individuals with cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, muscle disease, and those unable to perform exercise because of orthopedic limitations were excluded from the study. Individuals with type 2 diabetes (blood glucose >7.0 mmol/L) and renal insufficiency (estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min/1.73 m2) also were excluded. All participants were living independently. None

Participants' Characteristics

Participant characteristics are reported in Table 1. The 12-week analysis of lean body mass, 1-RM leg press, and 1-RM leg extension involved 110 participants, whereas the chair-rise time was completed on 85 participants. Type I and type II fiber cross-sectional area data was available for 92 participants at 12 weeks. The 24-week analysis of lean body mass, 1-RM leg press, 1-RM leg extension, and chair-rise time consisted of 85 participants. Type I and type II fiber cross-sectional data was

Discussion

In the present study, we observed that prolonged (12–24 weeks) resistance-type exercise training increased lean body mass, type I and II muscle fiber size, muscle strength, and physical function in a large group older men and women; however, large interindividual variability in the measured changes in these training outcomes was observed (Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 5, Fig. 6). Despite the interindividual variability in the adaptive response to training, we were unable to identify a

Conclusions

The present data show that there is no rationale to assume that there is such a thing as unresponsiveness to the benefits of exercise training and, as such, we should not be restrictive in the prescription of resistance-type exercise training to augment lean body mass, muscle fiber size, muscle strength, and physical function in the older population. Even in situations in which an individual demonstrates what might be classified as an adverse response to exercise13 on a single outcome measure,

Acknowledgments

We thank the participants for their time and effort.

References (32)

  • M.M. Bamman et al.

    Cluster analysis tests the importance of myogenic gene expression during myofiber hypertrophy in humans

    J Appl Physiol (1985)

    (2007)
  • C. Bouchard et al.

    Familial aggregation of VO(2max) response to exercise training: Results from the HERITAGE Family study

    J Appl Physiol (1985)

    (1999)
  • W.M. Kohrt et al.

    Effects of gender, age, and fitness level on response of VO2max to training in 60–71 yr olds

    J Appl Physiol (1985)

    (1991)
  • S.B. Sisson et al.

    Volume of exercise and fitness nonresponse in sedentary, postmenopausal women

    Med Sci Sports Exerc

    (2009)
  • C. Bouchard et al.

    Adverse metabolic response to regular exercise: Is it a rare or common occurrence?

    PLoS One

    (2012)
  • F.W. Booth et al.

    The future: Genes, physical activity and health

    Acta Physiol (Oxf)

    (2010)
  • Cited by (0)

    The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

    This work was funded by TI Food and Nutrition, a public-private partnership on precompetitive research in food and nutrition. The researchers are responsible for the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, and preparation of the manuscript. The industrial partners have contributed to the project through regular discussion.

    View full text