- According to Dr. John Heath, in an article published in the "Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine," "Even in 90-year-old participants, resistance training leads to enhanced muscle mass, doubling of strength, and greater independence in activities of daily living." Resistance exercise also improves bone density.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), engaging in such exercise can reduce falls in elderly persons by strengthening quadriceps and improving balance. Exercise is an underused, drug-free therapy to achieve enhanced quality of life for elders, especially for those with hypertension, diabetes, osteoarthritis and depression. - According to the CDC, the majority of older adults miss the opportunity to improve overall health and are not engaged in resistance training. All health-care providers need to reinforce and encourage participation in exercise activities, as the attitudes of caregivers are important to many seniors.
Social isolation--not having a group or partner with whom to exercise--makes it less likely that elders will continue resistance training. Also, the majority of frail elders are females who were raised in a culture and era when women didn't exercise. Seniors need to be informed of benefits and should set their own achievable exercise goals. - Even frail elders seldom have health concerns that contraindicate resistance exercise. Duration of exercise sessions may be as short as six minutes and be scheduled twice a day. According the the CDC, there are benefits to exercising as little as 30 minutes per week.
Exercise is only inadvisable, according to Dr. Heath, if the slightest exertion beyond activities of daily living jeopardize the stability of severe or recent heart conditions. For the vast majority, exercise improves heart health. Seniors should avoid becoming exhausted, however.
Dr. Heath advises that sensible precautions be taken to meet the medical needs of frail elders. Patients with angina should have nitroglycerine medication on hand when exercising. Those with pulmonary disease may need supplemental oxygen. Insulin-dependent diabetics should monitor blood sugar both before and after exercise, and have a snack on hand in case blood sugar falls too low. Frail elders with arthritis may benefit from hydrotherapy, exercising in water. Seniors should stop any movement that produces pain. - Resistance exercise can be done using regular light dumbells or small formed weights. There is a wide variety of colorful weights available in sports and department stores. A three-pound weight with toe straps can be lifted with an extended leg in a sitting position, for example. Hip flexion can be done standing, holding onto the back of a chair and lifting the knee with a two-pound ankle weight. Elastic bands of various tensile strengths are also useful in resistance training.