Abstract
Background: Aging is associated with sarcopenia, which is the loss of muscle mass and strength and function, and is often caused by disturbances in muscle metabolism and anabolic and catabolic hormones.
so, present study designed to investigated the effect of Resistance Training using rest pause technique which is the new advanced training technique on muscle thickness and Cross Sectional Area and such hormones related to sarcopenia in elderly women.
Methods: Thirty elderly women in the age range of 60-70 years, volunteered to participate in the research and were randomly assigned to experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. After completing 2 weeks resistance training/3 times per week/50-55% 1RM, the participants progressed to resistance training using new advanced technique which named rest pause and involved training three days a week for six weeks. Each training session consisted of 2 to 3 sets of 8 repetitions. This mesocycle incorporated 3 rest-pause sets. Rest-pause is a high-intensity interval training method. Each set performed using this technique comprised of 4 to 6 repetitions, with a 20-second recovery period, followed by 2 repetitions performed to fatigue, another 20-second recovery, and finally, 1 or 2 repetitions performed to failure. A rest period of 2 minutes and 30 seconds was provided between sets. The exercises were executed at an intensity level of 60-85% of the 1RM, and the workload increased by 5-10% on a weekly basis, in accordance with the subjects' ability and the principle of overload.
AlMI, Muscle thickness and cross-sectional area, Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and Myostatin (MSTN) were measured in two stages: pre-test (week 0) and post-test (end of week 8). Independent t-test and Within groups one- Way ANOVA was subsequently used to assess research variables through SPSS software version 23 at 0.05 level of significance.
Results: The results indicated the significant decrease of MSTN and a significant increase in AlMI, IGF-1 and Muscle thickness and cross-sectional area in the experimental group compared to control.
Conclusion: The major components indicative of sarcopenia are improved through Resistance Training using rest pause technique. Therefore, this protocol appears to be one of the most important coping strategies for reduction of muscle mass and hormones related to sarcopenia in older women. Therefore, it seems necessary for the elderly to do this type of training.