Archive | 2019
EFFECTS OF A 12-WEEK STRENGTH AND BALANCE EXERCISE PROGRAM ON FUNCTIONAL FITNESS OF OLDER MEN
Abstract
For the majority of mature adults, the maintenance of independent functioning, intact cognitive abilities, and good mental status could be the most important achievements in late life. Functional fitness is defined as the physical capacity to perform daily activities independently and without the appearance of fatigue. Functional fitness can be measured using the Senior Fitness Test – SFT. The experimental group consisted of 30 men mean age 76,9±6,27. Participants completed a 12-week strength and balance exercise program. The participants were evaluated before and after completing the exercise program for lowerand upper-body strength, aerobic endurance, lowerand upper-body flexibility, agility and dynamic balance. To determine the changes in particular parameters, paired samples T-test was used. The statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Statistically significant improvements were found in all tests. Aging is a biological process which sooner or later affects the human organism. Aging is proces that changes the biochemical composition of the tissue and decline in functional abilities is inevitable. People who are physically inactive can lose as much as 3% to 5% of their muscle mass each decade after age 30, and the decline is even faster after age 60(Melton, Khosla, Riggs, 2000). Maximum oxygen intakeVO2 max is one of the most important factors for determining the work capacity and the ability of elderly individuals to perform independendetly everyday activities and tasks. Age related VO2 max. decline is approximately 0,75-1% per year or 10% per decade in sedentary individuals( Rogers et al. 1990; Hawkins & Wiswell, 2003). VO2 max, decline is much lower in physically active individuals, about 5% per decade (Wiswell et al. 2001; Betik & Hepple, 2008) However, ORGINAL SCIENTIFIC PAPER