Effects of flexibility and strength training on functional performance in active elderly people

Forty five healthy elderly individuals (25 female gender; 20 male gender; 67.5±2 years old) completed the following study protocols: Control Group-CG (66±6 years old; n=13) just received advice about a healthy life style via lectures twice a week for 1h each, and carried out no physical or therapeutic exercise during 18 consecutive weeks; resistance group- RG (69±5 years old; n=13 performed resistive exercises; Stretching group- SG (69±6 years old; n=10) carried out stretching exercises; Resistance and stretching group-RSG (66±5 years old; n=09) carried out resistive exercises and immediately after by the stretching. The exercises were oriented by the work team of the present study and applied under the supervision of a physiotherapist and 3 students from the course in physical therapy at the coastal sector of Universidade Federal do Parana. Blood pressure was checked before and 6 minutes after each session of exercises. The exercises were carried out twice a week, always at the same time, for a total of 24 sessions, each session lasting approximately 55 min, i.e., resistive exercise and stretching. Stretching or resistive exercise sessions were shorter. Individuals who took part in at least 60% of the sessions were considered as active participants of the study. Resistive Exercise Protocol The ten repetition maximum (10-RM) technique was used to evaluate the muscular strength of each individual in order to choose the ideal weight to use in the exercise. The 10-RM technique evaluates the capacity of the individual with respect to the maximum weight he can move 10 times with little action of muscle groups that are not the primary motors of the movement under evaluation. The individuals were submitted to progressive resistive exercises, that is, for the first 5 weeks they used 65% of 10-RM, for the next 4 weeks, 70% and for the last 3 weeks, 75%. Adjustment of the 10-RM was determined immediately before the third and eighth weeks of training. The protocol of resistive exercises consisted of 3 series of 8 repetitions of each exercise, carried out with both limbs. The resistive exercises were carried out twice a week for 12 consecutive weeks for the following muscle groups: knee extensors (seated position) and knee flexors (standing upright); hip extensors (standing upright) and flexors (lying down on back); and the hip abductors and adductors (standing upright). The plantiflexors were tested in the upright standing position using the bodies own weight modified. Stretching Procedure Stretching exercises consisted of a series of 4 repetitions of active static stretching, each lasting 1 minute, with 1 min of relaxation between each repetition, respecting the tension limit of each individual. The exercises were carried out with both limbs twice a week for 12 consecutive weeks. The type of stretching, duration and number of repetitions. Stretching of the following muscle groups of the lower limbs was carried out: knee extensors and dorsiflexors in the upright standing position; knee flexors and plantiflexors were stretched using a band of non-elastic material, with the subject lying on his back and the stretched limb with the knee extended and the ankle joint in dorsiflexion, using. In this case the contralateral limb was placed with the hip and knees flexed during the knee flexor stretching procedure.