The effects of same-session combined exercise training on cardiorespiratory and functional fitness in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Endurance and strength training are effective strategies for counteracting age-associated reductions in physical performance in older adults, with a combination of both exercise modes recommended to maximise potential fitness benefits. This meta-analysis sought to quantify the effects of same-session combined endurance and strength training on fitness in adults aged over 50 years. Five electronic databases were searched with studies required to include one of the following outcome measures: VO(2peak), 6-min walk test (6MWT), 8-ft timed up-and-go (TUG), and 30-s chair stand. Separate random-effects meta-analyses compared combined training with (1) no-exercise control, (2) endurance training, and (3) strength training with probabilistic magnitude-based inferences subsequently applied. Twenty-seven studies involving 1346 subjects with a mean age of 68.8 years (range 54–85 years) were included in the analysis. The meta-analysed effect on VO(2peak) was a moderately beneficial effect for the combined training compared to no-exercise controls (3.6 mL kg(−1) min(−1); ± 95% confidence limits 0.8 mL kg(−1) min(−1)) with additional increases for studies with greater proportions of female participants and shorter training interventions. Combined training also had small-to-moderately beneficial effects on VO(2peak) when compared to endurance training (0.8 mL kg(−1) min(−1); ± 1.0 mL kg(−1) min(−1)), 30-s chair stand when compared with strength training (1.1 repetitions; ± 0.5 repetitions) and on TUG (0.8 s; ± 0.7 s), 30-s chair stand (2.8 repetitions; ± 1.7 repetitions), and 6MWT (31.5 m; ± 22.4 m) when compared to no-exercise controls. All other comparisons were unclear. Same-session combined training can induce clinically relevant fitness improvements in older adults. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s40520-019-01124-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.