STUDY OF SQUATEXERCISE AS TRAINING MODE FOR IMPROVING LEG MUSCLE STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE CAPACITY IN ELDERLY PERSONS

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The purpose of this study was to examine the fitness characteristics and to test the validity of the squat exercise as a training mode for improving the leg muscle strength and the endurance capacity in the elderly persons. We measured torque at the isokinetic knee exercises, maximal oxygen uptake, integrated EMG,balance ability, and so on at the some experimental conditions. The results were summarized as follows :1. The elderly persons showed lower values in both the leg muscle strength and the aerobic power than those in the young persons. Concerning the trainability in both abilities, the leg muscle strength seemed to have the higher trainability than the aerobic power.2. The leg muscle strength in the elderly persons significantly correlated with the vertical jump, and also the aerobic power showed the significant correlation with the heart rate at the self-paced stepping sub-maximal exercise. These results mean that the vertical jump and the self-paced stepping exercise tests wou … More ld be the valuable simple-tests for estimating the muscle strength and the aerobic power.3. The balancing ability against abrupt acceleration on the standing posture were significantly correlated with both of the lower limb muscle strength and the flexibility in the elderly persons. Moreover, the persons inexperienced a fall showed the higher stability on the disturbance test than the persons experienced a fall.4. During the squat exercises, heart rate, oxygen intake, and integrated EMG in the Muscle of Vastus Latelalis increased linearly with the increase in the squat rates. It corresponded about 50% maximal iEMG and 60% of VO2max at 20 times/min of squat rate. From these results, it was considered that the squat exercise would be the effective exercise mode for improving the leg muscle strength and the aerobic power in the elderly. However, it needs to pay some attention for applying the squat exercise to the elderly persons, because most of the subjects told the higher subjective intensity than these of the objective intensities.5. In the results of the squat exercise training (two sets of the self-slow paced of the squat exercise for 1 min, 3 days/week of frequency, and 5 weeks of period), though the torque at the low speed during isokinetic knee extensor exercise increased due to the training, but not significantly, the torque at the other high speeds and all speed ranges in the flexor exercise did not show the significant changes. These results suggest that it would need to do the more detail research considered subject's physical characteristics and the functional changes in muscle due to aging. Less