Effects of indoor cycling in body composition, muscular endurance, flexibility, balance and daily activities in physically active elders

Abstract

Introduction: To investigate the effects of indoor cycling in body composition, lower limb muscular endurance, flexibility and daily activities in physically active elders. Materials and Methods: The sample consisted of ten volunteers (seven females and three males), with ages between 60 and 74 years old (64.6±5.1 years), who participated in an indoor cycling program during 12 weeks. Evaluated measures included body composition, lower limb muscular endurance, balance and daily activities, before and after training. Wilcoxon signed-rank and Student’s t-test were used for paired samples. Results: The tests of daily activities showed a significant improvement (p≤0.05) in: getting up from the floor (-14.3%); total time for 800-meter walk (-13.5%); total time for climbing up stairs (-15.2%). Lower limb muscular endurance was increased by 23.7% and total time for the Stork (Balance) Standing test was increased in 59.3%. Other variables showed no significant improvements. Discussion: In spite of the limited sample size, indoor cycling showed positive results in the daily activities, muscular endurance and balance in physically active elders.