Research
Report
Barriers
to Exercise for Seniors
In an attempt to determine barriers to leisure time physical
activity for older adults and to identify strategies to
increase physical activity in this population, researchers
at the University of Dundee conducted a cross-sectional
survey of individuals over the age of 65. 409 randomly selected
older adults, ages 65-84 years, who lived independently,
were invited to take part and 46% completed the survey.
Respondents exhibited high levels of knowledge about the
specific health benefits of physical activity. 95% believed
physical activity was beneficial and 79% believed they were
physically active enough to keep healthy, however 36% performed
no leisure time physical activity and 17% did so less than
2 hours per week. Lack of interest was found to be the strongest
deterrent to physical activity while other factors that
exerted significant effects on leisure time physical activity
included: lack of access to a car, shortness of breath,
joint pain, dislike of going out alone or in the evening,
perceived lack of fitness, lack of energy, doubting that
exercise can lengthen life, not belonging to a group, and
doubting that meeting new people is beneficial.
Implications: There may be one or a number of factors
contributing to the reluctance to exercise for older adults
as well as for other age groups. It is important to identify
and address individual client or member concerns and attempt
to remove their specific barrier(s) to exercise.
Source: Crombie, I.K., Irvine, L., Williams, B.,
McGinnis, A.R., Slane, P.W., Alder, E.M., McMurdo, M.E.
Why older people do not participate in leisure time physical
activity: a survey of activity levels, beliefs and deterrents.
Age Ageing, Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 287-292, 2004.
Walking Works
FIT-iology Lesson 29 introduced the many health benefits
of adding a walking program to your fitness regime. Research
recently published in Medicine and Science in Sport &
Exercise lends further support to these claims. Researchers
examined the relationship between objectively measured daily
physical activity and body composition variables of middle-aged
women. Height, weight, percent body fat (%BF), body mass
index (BMI), waist circumference, and hip circumference
were measured on 80 women aged 50.3 ± 6.8 years.
Women were instructed to wear a pedometer throughout the
day and record the number of steps accumulated per day for
7 days. Statistical analysis of the data revealed a significant
correlation between average steps per day and %BF, BMI,
waist and hip circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio. Further,
when participant data was grouped based on activity level,
body composition variables were found to be significantly
higher in less active groups. Lastly, the average BMI of
women who accumulated the recommended 10, 000+ steps per
day was in the normal range.
Implications: Although a causal relationship can’t
be conclusively determined from this cross-sectional study,
the results are encouraging for walking women. For more
information on effective walking programs see FIT-iology
Lesson 29 in the April/May 2004 Can-fit-Pro Magazine.
Source: Thompson, D. L., Rakow, J., Perdue, S.M.
Relationship between Accumulated Walking and Body Composition
in Middle-Aged Women. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 36,
No. 5, pp. 911-914, 2004.
Stretching Relieves Strains
Stretching is used in rehabilitation programs to decrease
muscle stiffness, increase joint range of motion, and to
relieve pain. To determine the effectiveness of stretching
in the rehabilitation of hamstring injuries, researchers
randomly assigned 80 Greek athletes, average age 20.5 years,
with second-degree strain of the hamstring muscles to one
of two groups. Estimated time required for rehabilitation
of decreased knee range of motion (ROM) and time to return
to a full training program were determined for both groups.
Group B underwent an intensive stretching program while
Group A did not. Upon follow-up, Group B exhibited a significantly
shorter time to regain normal ROM compared to Group A.
Implications: This study demonstrates the role
of stretching in injury rehabilitation, however the effectiveness
of stretching for the general population can be inferred.
Muscle flexibility and joint ROM can be improved with proper
stretching.
Source: Malliaropoulos, N., Papalexandris, S.,
Papalada, A., Papacostas, E. The Role of Stretching in Rehabilitation
of Hamstring Injuries: 80 Athletes Follow-Up. Med. Sci.
Sports Exerc., Vol. 36, No. 5, pp. 756-759, 2004.
Abdominal Activity Comparison
To investigate the effectiveness of 3 abdominal exercise
devices, researchers at Kansas State University compared
the electromyographic (EMG) activity of the abdominal muscles
during trunk flexion using the Ab Roller, ABslide, and FitBall
with that of a traditional trunk curl. 23 students performed
15 repetitions of each exercise condition and surface EMG
activity was recorded for the upper rectus abdominis (URA),
lower rectus abdominis (LRA), external oblique (EO), and
rectus femoris (RF) muscles during 5 consecutive repetitions
of each exercise condition. Trunk-flexion using the ABslide
and FitBall resulted in significantly greater electrical
activity of the RF compared to the Ab Roller and traditional
curl conditions. The ABslide produced significantly less
activation of the URA but significantly greater activation
of the EO compared to the other conditions. No significant
difference in electrical activation of the LRA between conditions
was observed. Researchers also noted greater involvement
of the hip flexors when using the ABslide and FitBall devices.
Implications: Muscle activation varies with training
technique. When designing core conditioning programs, incorporate
a variety of exercises and training tools to target all
abdominal muscle groups.
Source: Hildenbrand, K., Noble, L. Abdominal Muscle
Activity While Performing Trunk-Flexion Exercises Using
the Ab Roller, ABslide, FitBall, and Conventionally Performed
Trunk Curls. J. Athl. Train., Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 37-43,
2004.
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