Velocity during Strength and Power Training of the Ankle Plantar and Dorsiflexor Muscles in Older Patients Attending Day Hospital Rehabilitation

Power training has been proposed as a more effective type of resistance training for older adults for functional performance. It is not yet known whether older adults respond appropriately to instructions for power versus strength training. The purpose of this study was to determine the velocity during strength and power training, with elastic resistance bands, in older adults attending a geriatric rehabilitation day program. It was hypothesized that power training would be faster than strength training, but that there would be large interindividual differences. Nine older patients (70 to 86 years) performed power and strength training of the ankle dorsiflexor and plantar flexor muscles using elastic resistance bands. Training sessions were filmed to assess the velocity of training. Power training occurred at faster velocities as compared to strength training (P < 0.01) for both muscle groups. However, a wide variation was observed between participants in the training velocities. Older adults attending geriatric rehabilitation do have the potential to develop faster contractions during power training as compared to strength training. Nevertheless, the actual velocities achieved differed between individuals. This could explain some of the mixed findings of studies on power training. Hence, researchers should monitor velocity when comparing different types of resistance training.