Veritas, Vol. 37, No. 05, December 1994

              For the Faculty and Staff of the University of Miami	December 1994 Volume 37 Number 5
Training program studies whether faster may be stronger
Twice each day, Nike-clad groups of seniors make the rounds through the University of Miami’s Human Performance Laboratory, roving from the PecDec to the leg curl machine.
These nontraditional athletes-in-the-making, aged 62 to 78, are the subject of a pioneering study measuring the impact of high-speed strength training on an elderly population in research conducted by Joseph Signorile, assistant professor of exercise and sports sciences in the School of Education.
Though resistance training already has been proven to enhance the strength and mobility of older citizens, the UM study breaks ground by using speed as a point of departure. The greatest loss in aging muscle, research has shown, is the atrophy of “fast-twitch” tissue, the quick-acting muscle strands that enable you to pop up from a chair or catch a fall.
Signorile believes that fast-twitch muscle can be conditioned for greater efficiency by training at high speeds, decreasing the time it takes to perform an action. “The concept of specificity of exercise says that if you want a system to change in a certain way, you stress it in that way,” he explains.
Results from the nine-month study could make apparent the difference in
motor skills developed in high or low speed training approaches, he says. Funding was provided by the Center on Human Factors and Aging, in Miami, Florida.
Although pilot data indicates promising gains in the high-speed group, he is confident that participants in both group will reap rewards, not to mention the bonus of regular cardiovascular exercise three times a week.
Signorile is the assistant director of the Human Performance Laboratory— a 2,020-square-foot facility, located in the Merrick building, stocked with Universal, Nautilus, and Biodex equipment used for clinical studies. He hopes his data will translate into another kind of empowerment for aging people—the ability to better cope with the activities of daily living. It is the every day housework, stair climbing, and grocery shopping that pose a breathtaking obstacle course for many older adults. He believes prescriptive exercise could be the most helpful antidote for the impediments of old age.
“You don’t stop exercising because you get old; you get old because you stop exercising,” he states. With America graying at a rate resulting in 64 million senior citizens by the year 2030, he asserts, perhaps the best plan
Shoulder to shoulder against abuse
Some 45 shirts— each a survivor’s story— poignantly bore witness to the horrors of domestic violence as part of the Clothesline Project, a week-long event designed to build awareness of abuse against women. Sponsored by the newly opened Women’s Resource Center, the program featured a discussion of the legal issues surrounding domestic violence by Assistant State Attorney Audrey Frank.
Fit and fast: Kathryn Meeker, John Sebree, and Joseph Signorile.
is to build more fitness facilities catering to the aging athlete.
Whatever the studies ultimately reveal, early gains have been reported by the 65 subjects, including greater self confidence, vitality, and improved mental clarity.
“There are a lot of fringe benefits from these exercises,” claims John Sebree, a 75-year-old retired airline pilot. Besides easing an aching back, the regimen appears to have controlled an irregular heartbeat and has lowered his blood pressure. Those on blood presure medication are monitored pre-and post-exercise.
“My arthritis discomfort has subsided since the program,” says Marilyn Carrera. Although the 63-year-old realtor had never trained with weights until the study, she and many others have discovered that body tone and muscle definition can be a source of satisfaction.
“I’ve certainly developed muscles and have had a lot of fun getting teased by my family,” smiles 68-year-old Charlotte Cordon.
Sebree's workout partner is Kathryn Meeker, an energetic redhead who at age 74 reports,
“This exercise gives you a much more youthful oudook and an independence. It lifts your spirits so completely—actually, it’s a high.
“Now I head for the stairs instead of the elevator,” Meeker says with not a little pride in her voice.
Notes Signorile, “The transition isn’t just physical, it’s mental too.”
Once the 12-week study concludes, test subjects vow to remain true to their exercise regimen.
“Their motivation is from within,” observes Paul Siudmak, one of the graduate assistants, who along with Mary Helen Campbell is involved with the study. “Their dedication to exercise is better than your typical 23-year-old, and this training is about as difficult as it gets,” he adds.
A related study investigating the relationship between muscle strength and balance is planned for the summer, Signorile says.
Sure as gravity, all of us age. And if
we’re in for a fall—they are the sixth leading cause of death in the elderly and the primary reason for nearly half of nursing home admissions— researchers like Joseph Signorile hope to provide aging Baby Boomers the coping mechanisms that may catch us before we tumble.
—Leslie Stemlieb V c
i
Says Charlotte Gordon, age 68: “I’ve developed muscles and have had a lot of fun getting teased by my family. ”
m
CD
CO
CO
Cindy Keirp	Cindy Karp