Changes to Muscle Quality and Sarcopenia Status After Short-Term Resistance Training in Older Adults

Detailed Summary

The purpose of this study will be to evaluate whether dumbbell resistance training (DBRT) or elastic band resistance training (EBRT) is beneficial in older adults whom may be classified as sarcopenic based on the collective operational definition and older adults that do not meet the criteria to be considered sarcopenic compared to non-exercise controls of these populations after sarcopenia criteria have been established. As well as identify if resistance exercise will improve muscle quality in older adults, considering how muscle quality relates to sarcopenia status. Specific Aim 1 will determine if short-term resistance training will alter muscle quality or sarcopenia status in older adults compared to non-exercise controls. The study team will instruct and supervise adults aged 55-85 in structured, periodized EBRT or DBRT for 6 weeks. After the training, muscle quality and sarcopenia status will be re-evaluated. It is hypothesized that both types of training (EBRT and DBRT) will improve the sarcopenia status of older adults engaging in resistance training and if sarcopenic, their classification may change to non-sarcopenic. A secondary hypothesis is that EBRT will be more beneficial than DBRT, resulting in greater changes in body composition, strength, and functional movements. It is also hypothesized that muscle quality, as an index of relative strength, will improve after 6 weeks of resistance training with either dumbbells or elastic bands and that there is a strong negative linear relationship between severity of sarcopenia and muscle quality. Specific Aim 2 will evaluate the prevalence of sarcopenia in older adults using previously-identified equations and cut-off values and to subsequently generate a new index to include functional muscle mass and performance to identify sarcopenic individuals. This will be completed using muscle mass estimations from dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), functional performance measures, and structural composition. It is hypothesized that DEXA and BIA will provide accurate estimates of appendicular lean mass (ALM), and functional performance (handgrip strength and gait speed) will be significant contributors to a predictive equation of a muscle quality index for men and women.

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