Supertraining

I had to say I enjoyed hearing one of the competitors this weekend at a PL meet 
tell me she was "delighted with her bench effort but disappointed she didn't 
deadlift enough".  She had been doing around 240 lbs in the gym but only 
managed about 215 lbs at the meet.  She was over 70 years of age <grin>.  I 
can't off hand remember her weight class, but she looks around 110 lbs tops....!

It's nice that the research is finally catching up with what I know to be a 
truth!  I keep seeing older powerlifters and people taking up PL and even OL in 
their 50's and 60's... and they stand much taller and appear to have great 
balance even walking around, in their 70's and even early 80's!  (One of my 
clients in his early 80's has much better balance after a year of squatting 
without weight and it has improved his posture as well... what prevents him 
from taking up competing and using a barbell is the fact he suffers severe 
peripheral neuropathy or I am sure nothing could stop him!  The balance 
improvements and improved yes, muscularity in his legs and glutes is a 
testimony to even bodyweight exercise and consistent work - and he had never 
lifted weights or done a PL style movement, he used to run and play softball 
and football.)

All I can say is this:  If Grandma wants to deadlift, hand her the chalk and 
teach her good form.  I think you'll be surprised.  And if you aren't competing 
with her yourself, you should be in the audience or handling her....  Lifting 
"heavy" (for "heavy" is different to all of us) is truly the Power that 
Preserves!

The Phantom
aka Linda Schaefer, CMT, competing drug free powerlifter
Denver, Colorado, USA

-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: "carruthersjam" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 
The below study demonstrated that explosive-type heavy-resistance 
training seems to be safe and well tolerated in healthy women even in 
the eighth decade of life and elicits adaptive neuromuscular changes 
in selected physiological variables that are commonly associated with 
the risk of falls and disability in aged individuals.

Explosive heavy-resistance training in old and very old adults: 
changes in rapid muscle force, strength and power
P. Caserotti 1,2 , P. Aagaard 1,2 , J. Buttrup Larsen 3 , L. Puggaard 
1,2 

elderly • aging • strength training • power • countermovement jump
ABSTRACT

Age-related decline in muscle power predicts falls, motor impairments 
and disability. Recent guidelines suggested that training programs 
should be tailored to maximize muscle power. This study investigated 
the effects of 12 weeks of explosive-type heavy-resistance training 
(75–80% of 1 repetition maximum) in old (60–65 years, TG60) and very 
old (80–89 years, TG80) community-dwelling women. Training was 
performed with maximal intentional acceleration of the training load 
during the concentric movement phase. Maximal isometric voluntary 
muscle strength (MVC), rapid force capacity, assessed as rate of 
force development (RFD), and impulse, maximal muscle power during a 
countermovement jump (CMJ) and during unilateral leg extension task 
(LEP) were evaluated. RFD, impulse and MVC increased by 51%, 42% and 
28% in TG80, and by 21%, 18% and 18% in TG60, respectively. CMJ jump 
height increased by 18% and 10% in TG80 and TG60, respectively, while 
jump peak power increased in TG60 (5%). Finally, LEP increased 28% in 
TG80 and 12% in TG60. 

These findings demonstrate that explosive-type heavy-resistance 
training seems to be safe and well tolerated in healthy women even in 
the eighth decade of life and elicits adaptive neuromuscular changes 
in selected physiological variables that are commonly associated with 
the risk of falls and disability in aged individuals.

===================
Jamie Carruthers
Wakefield, UK


 

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


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