Acute Power Training Effects in Older Adults

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn how older adults respond to power training when the level of fatigue during exercise is different. Power training means performing fast movements with moderate loads to improve strength, power and mobility.

The main questions the study aims to answer are:

* How does the level of fatigue during power training acutely affect strength, movement, and muscle function?
* How does it affect recovery, muscle soreness, and how hard the exercise feels?

Researchers will compare three power-training sessions with different fatigue levels to see which approach may be safest and most effective for older adults.

Participants will be healthy older adults aged 65 to 85 years. Each participant will complete three supervised exercise sessions on a leg press machine. The sessions will take place about one week apart.

During the study, participants will:

* Perform power training on a pneumatic leg press machine
* Complete strength and mobility tests before and after exercise
* Provide small blood samples to measure body responses to exercise
* Rate how hard the exercise feels
* Report muscle soreness for up to two days after exercise

The results may help researchers design safer and more effective power-training programs to improve strength, mobility, and recovery in older adults.

Conditions

• Muscle Power
• Functional Performance
• Older Adults (65 Years and Older)
• Neuromuscular Function
• Physiological Responses
• Healthy Older Adults

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Power Training at Different Fatigue Levels

Participants perform supervised power-training exercises on a pneumatic leg press. The sessions are designed to test different levels of fatigue: 1. In one session, participants stop the exercise set when their movement speed drops by 10%. 2. In another session, they stop when their movement speed drops by 30%. 3. In a third session, participants perform the same total work as the 30% session, but stop at 10% velocity loss. Each session lasts a single training bout (4 sets), and is separated from the next session by one week. During and after each session, researchers measure immediate and post 24h responses to the training in neuromuscular function, physiological responses (e.g., blood markers, muscle oxygenation), functional performance, perceived effort, and muscle soreness. This intervention is different from other exercise studies because it focuses on how varying fatigue levels during power training affect immediate performance and recovery in healthy older adults.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Hasselt University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Evelien Van Roie, PhD · Hasselt University, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences

• Bruno Tassignon, PhD · Hasselt University, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

65 Years

Max Age

85 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-04-20

Primary Completion

2027-01-31

Completion

2027-01-31

Countries

• Belgium

Study Locations