Autonomic Modulation in Older Women: Using Resistance Exercise as a Countermeasure

Authors

Hayden Gerhart
Yu Lun Tai, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Curtis Fennell
Xian Mayo
J. Derek Kingsley

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2017

Abstract

It is unclear if resistance training (RT) can be used to alter declines in autonomic modulation associated with aging. Young women (YW; range 18–25 yrs) and older women (OW; range 50–72 yrs) were compared at baseline. Only OW underwent supervised RT 2 days a week for 12-weeks. Baseline and post-training measurements included heart rate variability (HRV) and complexity (Sample Entropy) to assess autonomic modulation. The 12-weeks of RT consisted of 9 exercises performing 3 sets of 8–12 repetitions. At baseline, group differences in maximal strength, and autonomic modulation were evaluated with a one-way ANOVA with BMI as a covariate. In the OW, the effects of RT were evaluated with repeated-measures ANOVA in order to compare baseline to after RT. The YW had significantly (p≤0.05) lower diastolic, but not systolic blood pressure. The YW also had significantly (p≤0.05) greater absolute Ln (natural logarithm) high-frequency (HF) power and normalized HF power compared to the OW. In addition, there were significantly (p≤0.05) greater levels of normalized low-frequency power (LF) (and the LF/HF ratio) in the OW compared to the YW before RT. However, no difference was found for Sample Entropy. After RT, OW significantly (p≤0.05) increased the chest press (28%) and leg extension (33%). RT had no significant effect on any autonomic parameter suggesting that it may not be a sufficient stimulus to alter the effects of aging.

Comments

PMC Copyright notice

Recommended Citation

Gerhart, H., Tai, Y. L., Fennell, C., Mayo, X., & Kingsley, J. D. (2017). Autonomic Modulation in Older Women: Using Resistance Exercise as a Countermeasure. International journal of exercise science, 10(2), 178–187.