Effects of Water-based Aerobic and Combined Training in Elderly Woman

Summary

Purpose: Investigate neuromuscular, cardiorespiratory, functional capacity, quality of life and cognitive adaptations of eight weeks of water-based aerobic and combined training in elderly women previously trained for eight weeks of water-based aerobic training.

Materials and methods: Fifty-four elderly women volunteer will be randomly divided into two groups with ratio of 2:1 (week 0): water-based aerobic training (WBA) and control group (CG). After eight weeks of intervention the WBA group will be randomly divided into two groups with ratio of 1:1 (week 9): WBA and water-based combined training (WBC). The intervention will last 16 weeks with two weekly sessions for water-based training groups and one weekly session for CG. The WBA program will consist only of aerobic exercises while the WBC program will consist of aerobic and resistance exercises in the same session. The WBA training will be performed in the percentages of heart rate corresponding to the anaerobic threshold and the resistance training sets will be performed at maximal effort. Assessments of muscular endurance of knee extensors and elbow flexors, peak oxygen consumption and ventilatory thresholds, occurrence of low back pain and disability from the same, functional capacity (30-second chair stand, 8-foot up-and-go and chair sit-and-reach) and of functional test 8-foot up-and-go with counting task will be performed before (week 0) and after interventions (week 17). Moreover, assessments of maximal dynamic strength in knee extensors and elbow flexors, maximal neuromuscular activity and maximal voluntary isometric contraction of knee extensor muscles, muscle thickness and echo intensity of knee extensor muscles, heart rate, blood pressure, functional capacity (6-minute walk), quality of life and cognitive function will be performed before (week 0), between (week 9) and after interventions (week 17). The data will be analyzed using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) and Bonferroni post-hoc test (α=0,05).

Conditions

• Elderly Women

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Water-based aerobic training

Participants who will be randomized for the intervention in the aerobic training group will carry out exercises with no interval for exercise change. Intensity will be increased every mesocycle and participants will carry out three 3-minute series of each exercise. In the first mesocycle (weeks 1-2) the intensity will correspond to 80-85% of heart rate corresponding to the anaerobic threshold (HRat). In the second mesocycle (weeks 3-4) the intensity will correspond to 85-90% of HRat. In the third mesocycle, the intensity will correspond to 90-95% of HRat from weeks 5-7. In the fourth mesocycle, the intensity will correspond to 95-100% of HRat from weeks 8-10. In the fifth mesocycle (weeks 11-13) the intensity will correspond to the 100-105% of HRat for 2 minutes and \<85% of HRat for 1 minute. The last mesocycle (weeks 14-16) the intensity will correspond to the 105-110% of HRat for 2 minutes and \<85% of HRat for 1 minute.

BEHAVIORAL

Water-based aerobic and combined training

Participants who will be randomized for the intervention in the aerobic and combined training group will perform 8 weeks of aerobic training and more 8 weeks of aerobic and resistance training in same session. In aerobic training the participants will perform three 3-min series of each exercise. The intensity will correspond to 80-85% of heart rate of anaerobic threshold (HRat) (weeks 1-2), 85-90% of HRat (weeks 3-4), 90-95% of HRat (weeks 5-7), 95-100% of HRat (weeks 8-10), 100-105% for 2 min and \<85% of HRat for 1 min (weeks 11-13) and 105-110% for 2 min and \<85% of HRat for 1 min (weeks 14-16). Resistance training will be divide into two blocks of exercises perform each repetition at maximal effort, speed and amplitude. Participants will perform 2 sets of 30 s for each block in the first mesocycle (weeks 9-10), 3 sets of 20 s in the second mesocycle (weeks 11-13) and 4 sets of 15 s in the third mesocycle (weeks 14-16).

BEHAVIORAL

Control group

The control group will perform a weekly session composed of 30 minutes of therapeutic and playfull exercises in the aquatic environment, involving games, relaxation, massage and conversation.The participants will receive instructions to perform the movements as slowly as possible to avoid physical effort.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Federal University of Pelotas

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Stephanie Pinto, Phd · UFPel

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

60 Years

Max Age

75 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2019-01-21

Primary Completion

2019-12-20

Completion

2020-12-15

Countries

• Brazil

Study Locations