Effect of concurrent aerobic and resistance circuit exercise training on fitness in older adults

The purpose of this study was to determine the physiological effects of a programmed accommodating circuit exercise (PACE) program consisting of aerobic exercise and hydraulic-resistance exercise (HRE) on fitness in older adults. Thirty-five volunteers were randomly divided into two groups [PACE group (PG) 8 men and 10 women, 68.3 (4.9) years, and non-exercise control group (CG) 7 men and 10 women, 68.0 (3.4) years). The PG participated in a 12-week, 3 days per week supervised program consisting of 10 min warm-up and 30 min of PACE (moderate intensity HRE and aerobic movements at 70% of peak heart rate) followed by 10 min cool-down exercise. PACE increased (P<0.05) oxygen uptake (O₂) at lactate threshold [PG, pre 0.79 (0.20) l min^–1, post 1.02 (0.22) l min^–1, 29%; CG, pre 0.87 (0.14) l min^–1, post 0.85 (0.15) l min^–1, –2%] and at peak O₂ [PG, pre 1.36 (0.24) l min^–1, post 1.56 (0.28) l min^–1, 15%; CG, pre 1.32 (0.29) l min^–1, post 1.37 (0.37) l min^–1, 4%] in PG measured using an incremental cycle ergometer. Muscular strength evaluated by a HRE machine increased at low to high resistance dial settings for knee extension (9–52%), knee flexion (14–76%), back extension (18–92%) and flexion (50–70%), chest pull (6–28%) and press (3–17%), shoulder press (18–31%) and pull (26–85%), and leg press (21%). Body fat (sum of three skinfolds) decreased (16%), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) increased (10.9 mg dl^–1) for PG. There were no changes in any variables for CG. These results indicate that PACE training incorporating aerobic exercise and HRE elicits significant improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, body composition, and HDLC for older adults. Therefore, PACE training is an effective well-rounded exercise program that can be utilized as a means to improve health-related components of fitness in older adults.