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Benefits of resistance training in physically frail elderly: a systematic review

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Abstract

Aim

Exercise is one of the most important components in frailty prevention and treatment. Therefore, we systematically reviewed the effect of resistance training (RT) alone or combined with multimodal exercise intervention on muscle hypertrophy, maximal strength, power output, functional performance, and falls incidence in physically frail elderly.

Methods

MEDLINE, Cochrane CENTRAL, PEDro, and SPORTDiscus databases were searched from 2005 to 2017. Studies must have mentioned the effects of RT (i.e., included or not in multimodal training) on at least one of the following parameters: muscle mass, muscle strength, muscle power, functional capacity, and risk of falls in frail elderly.

Results

The initial search identified 371 studies and 16 were used for qualitative analysis for describing the effect of strength training performed alone or in a multimodal exercise intervention. We observed that RT alone or in a multimodal training may induce increases of 6.6–37% in maximal strength; 3.4–7.5% in muscle mass, 8.2% in muscle power, 4.7–58.1% in functional capacity and risk of falls, although some studies did not show enhancements.

Conclusion

Frequency of 1–6 sessions per week, training volume of 1–3 sets of 6–15 repetitions and intensity of 30–70%1-RM promoted significant enhancements on muscle strength, muscle power, and functional outcomes. Therefore, in agreement with previous studies, we suggest that supervised and controlled RT represents an effective intervention in frailty treatment.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) and CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior) for their financial support. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Exercise Research Laboratory (LAPEX), Strength Training Research Group, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Felizardo Street, 750 – Jardim Botânico, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90690-200, Brazil

    Pedro Lopez, Ronei Silveira Pinto, Regis Radaelli, Anderson Rech, Rafael Grazioli & Eduardo Lusa Cadore

  2. Department of Health Sciences, Public University of Navarre, CIBER de Fragilidad y Envejecimiento Saludable (CB16/10/00315), Tudela, Navarre, Spain

    Mikel Izquierdo

  3. Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, RS, Brazil

    Regis Radaelli

  4. University of Caxias do Sul, Caxias do Sul, RS, Brazil

    Anderson Rech

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  1. Pedro Lopez
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  2. Ronei Silveira Pinto
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Correspondence to Pedro Lopez.

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Lopez, P., Pinto, R.S., Radaelli, R. et al. Benefits of resistance training in physically frail elderly: a systematic review. Aging Clin Exp Res 30, 889–899 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-017-0863-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-017-0863-z

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