The Effectiveness Of One Day A Week Group Exercise Training In Older Adults

It is well established that older adults gain substantial health benefits from regular physical activity. However, only 19 percent of older adults age 65 years and older meet the muscle-strengthening activity recommendations set forth in the second edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Muscle-strengthening activities, often in combination with balance training, are key to helping older adults maintain strength, slow the progression of sarcopenia, and improve physical function. PURPOSE: to investigate the effectiveness of a once a week group exercise class on physical function as measured by the 30-second sit to stand test. METHODS: The University of Minnesota Duluth hosts a lifelong education program entitled University for Seniors. From this program, older adults (n = 42) enrolled in a class entitled “Resistance Training for Seniors: Circuit Training for Balance, Mobility, and Strength”. The evaluation of this class reflects four terms: Fall 2022 (8 weeks), Winter 2023 (8 weeks), Spring 2023 (6 weeks), and Fall 2023 (7 weeks). Each class consisted of one day a week for ~75 minutes of exercise performed in a circuit fashion designed to address balance, power, agility, hypertrophy, and strength. Each class period consisted of participants moving from exercise to exercise in a circuit manner: Circuit #1 - 4 exercises to address balance; Circuit #2 - 4 exercises to address power and agility, Circuit #3 - 4 exercises to address strength and hypertrophy. The 30-second sit to stand test was performed twice per term on the first and last day of class (pre/post) to gather data as a proxy measurement on program effectiveness. RESULTS: A paired-samples t-test was performed to assess the impact of one day a week training on a 30-second sit-to-stand test in a sample of older adults (n = 42). At the end of the class across the 4 terms, an 18% increase in sit-to-stand scores was observed from pre (16.1 ± 4.1) to post (19.3 ± 5.3), with a mean difference of 3.2 (95% CI, 2.2 to 4.2), t (41) = 6.7, p < 0.001, d = 1.03. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study found that just one day per week of a supervised group exercise class consisting of exercises that address balance, power, and strength led to meaningful improvements in the physical function of older adults in a time frame of 6-8 weeks.