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Different response to eccentric and concentric training in older men and women

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Abstract

Sarcopenia is the age-related loss of muscle mass and strength and has been associated with an increased risk of falling and the development of metabolic diseases. Various training protocols, nutritional and hormonal interventions have been proposed to prevent sarcopenia. This study explores the potential of continuous eccentric exercise to retard age-related loss of muscle mass and function. Elderly men and women (80.6 ± 3.5 years) were randomized to one of three training interventions demanding a training effort of two sessions weekly for 12 weeks: cognitive training (CT; n = 16), conventional resistance training (RET; n = 23) and eccentric ergometer training (EET; n = 23). Subjects were tested for functional parameters and body composition. Biopsies were collected from M. vastus lateralis before and after the intervention for the assessment of fiber size and composition. Maximal isometric leg extension strength (MEL: +8.4 ± 1.7%) and eccentric muscle coordination (COORD: −43 ± 4%) were significantly improved with EET but not with RET (MEL: +2.3 ± 2.0%; COORD: −13 ± 3%) and CT (MEL: −2.3 ± 2.5%; COORD: −12 ± 5%), respectively. We observed a loss of body fat (−5.0 ± 1.1%) and thigh fat (−6.9 ± 1.5%) in EET subjects only. Relative thigh lean mass increased with EET (+2.5 ± 0.6%) and RET (+2.0 ± 0.3%) and correlated negatively with type IIX/type II muscle fiber ratios. It was concluded that both RET and EET are beneficial for the elderly with regard to muscle functional and structural improvements but differ in their spectrum of effects. A training frequency of only two sessions per week seems to be the lower limit for a training stimulus to reveal measurable benefits.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by the National Research Programme NRP 53 “Musculoskeletal Health-Chronic Pain” of the Swiss National Science Foundation (Project 405340-104718) and by the University of Bern, Switzerland. A special thank goes to Dunja Minder and Glenn Lurman for editorial proof-reading and to the training instructors from the Federal Office of Sports, Switzerland and the Institute of Sports and Sports Science, University of Bern, Switzerland.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Anatomy, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 2, 3000, Bern 9, Switzerland

    Matthias Mueller, Fabio Andreas Breil, Michael Vogt, Roger Steiner, Stephan Klossner, Hans Hoppeler & Christoph Däpp

  2. Osteoporosis Policlinic, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital and University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland

    Kurt Lippuner & Albrecht Popp

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  1. Matthias Mueller
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  2. Fabio Andreas Breil
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  3. Michael Vogt
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  4. Roger Steiner
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  5. Kurt Lippuner
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  6. Albrecht Popp
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  7. Stephan Klossner
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  8. Hans Hoppeler
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  9. Christoph Däpp
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Correspondence to Matthias Mueller.

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Mueller, M., Breil, F.A., Vogt, M. et al. Different response to eccentric and concentric training in older men and women. Eur J Appl Physiol 107, 145–153 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-009-1108-4

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