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Fitness & Exercise for Senior Citizens
Weight Training is Good and Safe Exercise Even for
Heart Patients
American Heart Association updates previous 2000 opinion
 uly 17 Once taboo for people with heart problems, resistance weight
training actually has significant benefits for people with
cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to an American Heart Association
scientific statement published in Circulation: Journal of the
American Heart Association.
The statement, Resistance Exercise in
Individuals With and Without Cardiovascular Disease, is an update to
a statement published in 2000.
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Senior Citizen Fitness & Exercise |
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Just like we once learned that people with heart
disease benefited from aerobic exercise, we are now learning that
guided, moderate weight training also has significant benefits, said
Mark Williams, Ph.D., the statement writing group chair and professorof
medicine in the Division of Cardiology at Creighton University School of
Medicine in Omaha,
Neb.
Williams said resistance (weight) training should
be viewed as a complement to aerobic exercise, not a replacement for it.
There is extensive evidence of the benefits of aerobic exercise training
on the modulation of cardiovascular risk factors, he said.
Resistance training not only enhances the benefits
of aerobic fitness, but it appears to provide the added benefit of
increased functional capacity and independence. It helps people better
perform tasks of daily living like lifting sacks of groceries.
The health benefits of resistance training include
increased strength and muscular coordination, more muscle mass and
higher bone density in men and women of all ages. An increase in muscle
mass contributes to a higher basal metabolic rate, which can help in
weight control. In addition, resistance training can help improve
quality of life. In people whose fitness level compromises their daily
physical functioning, both endurance exercise and resistance training
may improve quality of life allowing patients to do what they enjoy
and remain independent.
The statement discusses appropriate techniques for
resistance training and the potential impact of straining.
Recommendations focus on performing lifts rhythmically, balancing upper
and lower body exercises, and establishing a proper breathing pattern.
The emphasis at the early stage of training is to allow time for the
muscles to adapt and to practice good technique, thus reducing the
potential for excessive muscle soreness and injury, Williams said.
In the past, low weight limits were set for the
amount CVD patients could lift. Williams said thats appropriate during
recovery from a cardiac event or procedure, but when prescribed
appropriately, patients can often do more to train safely and benefit
significantly.
Recommendations for the initial prescription of
resistance training are:
Resistance training should be performed:
● in a rhythmical manner at a moderate-to-slow
controlled speed;
● through a full range of motion, avoiding
breath-holding and straining by exhaling during the contraction or
exertion phase of the lift and inhaling during the relaxation phase; and
● alternating between upper and lower body work,
to allow for adequate rest between exercises.
The initial resistance or weight load should:
● allow for, and be limited, to 812 repetitions
per set for healthy sedentary adults, or 1015 repetitions at a low
level of resistance, (e.g., < 40 percent of 1 repetition
maximum), for older (more than 5060 years of age), more frail persons,
or cardiac patients;.
● be limited to a single set, performed two days
per week, and involve the major muscle groups of the upper and lower
extremities, e.g., chest press, shoulder press, triceps extension,
biceps curl, pull-down (upper back), lower back extension, abdominal
crunch/curl-up, quadriceps extension or leg press, leg curls
(hamstrings), and calf raise.
While traditional prescriptions for weight training
have involved performing three sets of repetitions,the writing group
found that single and multiple set programs provide nearly the same
relative improvement in muscular strength during the initial training
period. For the average person beginning strength training, single-set
programs at least two days per week are recommended over multiple-set
programs because they are highly effective, less time consuming, and
promote adherence, according to the statement.
For people with cardiovascular disease, the
level of resistance should be reduced and number of repetitions
increased, resulting in a lower relative effort and reducing the
likelihood of breath-holding and straining. Thus, a comprehensive
program of eight to 10 exercises can be accomplished in 1520 minutes
and should be done after the aerobic component, which will ensure an
adequate warm-up.
As a person progresses, the exercise level can be
increased by changing any variable in the fitness program: increasing
resistance or weight; increasing repetitions per set; increasing the
number of sets per exercise; and, decreasing the rest period between
sets or exercises. The statement recommends increasing the number of
repetitions before increasing resistance or weight.
There are certain conditions (unstable heart
disease, uncontrolled hypertension or arrhythmias, infections in and
around the heart, Marfans syndrome, etc.) where resistance training
would not be recommended.
However, for people at low risk for cardiac events,
extensive cardiovascular screening is probably not necessary, although a
graded approach is recommended. For people at moderate- to high-risk of
cardiac events, resistance training can be safely undertaken with proper
preparation and guidance by a physician.
This statement allows health care providers to
give input to their cardiovascular patients and allow them to
participate in this type of activity with confidence, Williams said.
Patients who have had cardiac events are often apprehensive about
returning to this type of activity, or doing things in their daily lives
that might be perceived as strenuous. This helps physicians and patients
understand what they should be doing and what they should avoid. Now we
know that they can return to the active things they enjoy doing.
Editors note: The American Heart
Associations Choose To Move is a free 12-week program that helps busy
women increase physical activity and build healthy habits into their
daily lives without creating new routines that take a lot of time and
money. Program registrants receive an easy, step-by-step poster for
coordinating resistance training into any fitness routine. Call
1-800-AHA-USA1 or visit
choosetomove.org to begin the program today.
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