Acute Neuromuscular and Physiological Responses to Different Velocity Loss Thresholds During Power Training in Older Adults

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are studying how different levels of fatigue during power training affect strength, movement, and muscle function in healthy older adults aged 65 to 85 years. The study aims to understand the immediate and recovery effects of varying fatigue levels on muscle soreness, exercise effort, and physical performance to help design safer and more effective training programs for this age group. Participants will complete three supervised power-training sessions on a pneumatic leg press machine about one week apart. Each session involves 4 sets with different fatigue levels: stopping when movement speed drops by 10% (low fatigue), stopping at 30% speed loss (moderate fatigue), or performing cluster sets with rest breaks to match the volume of the moderate fatigue session while maintaining low fatigue. Movement speed is continuously monitored during exercise. During the study, participants undergo strength and mobility tests before and after exercise, provide small blood samples to measure physiological responses, rate exercise effort, and report muscle soreness up to two days post-exercise. Researchers will measure outcomes like maximum voluntary contraction, torque development, muscle activity, muscle oxygenation, blood markers, functional performance tests, perceived exertion, and delayed muscle soreness over multiple timepoints. Participants are monitored for safety and recovery throughout the trial, which lasts about three weeks in total.

Acute Power Training Effects in Older Adults