PHYSICAL TRAINING IN OLD MEN

In order to investigate to what extent physical training might influence age-related changes in muscle strength and muscle composition, 12 70-year-old men were trained for 45 minutes three times a week for 12 weeks with dynamic and static exercise. The subjects in the study were free of cardiovascular and locomotor symptoms. After training the aerobic capacity was increased and static and dynamic muscle strength at all measured angular velocities increased significantly. In the control group none of these changes was seen. The fibre composition showed a significantly higher proportion of Type II fibres after training. Enzymatic evidence of training adaptation was found with significant increments in enzymes as muscle myokinase and lactate dehydrogenase. The results have shown that aerobic capacity and muscle strength are trainable in 70-year-old men.