Power in the elderly

Most people think of training for muscle power as something that's only for athletes. However, as you age, peak muscle power declines more quickly than strength, and there's a link between the loss of muscle power and disability in older people.

An interesting study comparing the effects of different training speeds on muscle power in the elderly comes from Dr. Roger Fielding and a research team from Boston University [1]. Fielding compared the effects of a high- and low-velocity resistance-training program on muscle power in a group of elderly women with an average age of 73.

Subjects were split into two groups, and assigned to either the high- or low-velocity program. Both groups trained for three times each week, performing three sets of eight repetitions of the leg press and knee extension.

Subjects in the high-velocity group were instructed to complete the concentric (or lifting phase) of each exercise as fast as possible, maintain full extension for one second, and take two seconds to return to the starting position. The women in the low-velocity group followed an identical program, but were told to spend two seconds on the concentric phase of the movement.

Muscle strength increased to a similar degree in both groups. However, gains in peak power were more than double in the high- compared to the low-velocity group.

Peak power is the highest instantaneous power value found over a given range of motion. A drop in peak power of the muscles in the legs is linked with disability among older individuals. Peak power in the ankle, for example, independently predicts the ability of older women to get out of a chair or climb the stairs [2].

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Reference
1. Fielding, R.A., LeBrasseur, N.K., Cuoco, A., Bean, J., Mizer, K., & Fiatarone Singh, M.A. (2002). High-velocity resistance training increases skeletal muscle peak power in older women. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 50, 655-662
2. Suzuki, T., Bean, J.F., & Fielding, R.A. (2001). Muscle power of the ankle flexors predicts functional performance in community-dwelling older women. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 49, 1161-1167