Comparison of Neuromotor and Progressive Resistance Exercise Training to Improve Mobility and Fitness in Community-Dwelling Older Women

Abstract

Purpose: Neuromotor exercise, which stimulates motor fitness components (balance, agility, coordination), has been less investigated than other forms of exercise such as resistance or aerobic training to counteract the age-related impairment in mobility. The aim of the study was to verify whether neuromotor exercise was as effective as resistance training in improving mobility and related fitness components in healthy older women. Methods: Thirty-five women (mean age 69.6 ± 3.2 years) were assigned to a neuromotor (NMT) or a progressive resistance training (PRT) group, both exercising 1 h, twice weekly for 12 weeks. The NMT group exercised static and dynamic balance, agility, speed, reaction time and coordination, while the PRT performed prevalently machine based, strengthening exercises. All participants were tested before and after the intervention for walking speed under different conditions, chair rise time, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength and power. A 2 × 2 MANOVA and subsequent ANOVAs were performed to ascertain the effects of the two trainings. Results: Similar improvements were observed for mobility (P = 0.000, ηp2=0.73) and for fitness (P = 0.000, ηp2=0.96) in both groups. Conclusions: The present results suggest that in healthy older women improvements in mobility may be obtained through both strength and neuromotor exercise. The present results contribute to further our knowledge on the effects of neuromotor exercise for older people and add relevant information on exercise interventions targeting mobility in the elderly.