Strength training once, twice weekly similar to three times
One page on PainSci cites Taaffe 1999: Strength Training Frequency
PainSci commentary on Taaffe 1999: ?This page is one of thousands in the PainScience.com bibliography. It is not a general article: it is focused on a single scientific paper, and it may provide only just enough context for the summary to make sense. Links to other papers and more general information are provided wherever possible.
Taaffe et al studied strength training frequency in a few dozen healthy older adults, aged 65 to 79 years — remember, strength training is not just for bodybuilders! Training consisted of “three sets of eight exercises targeting major muscle groups of the upper and lower body, at 80% of one-repetition maximum (1-RM) for eight repetitions,” which would be a pretty decent regimen for a young person as well. They were divided into groups training 1, 2, or 3 days per week. They all did well. They all got equally stronger. “A program of once or twice weekly resistance exercise achieves muscle strength gains similar to 3 days per week training in older adults.”
original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of frequency of resistive training on gain in muscle strength and neuromuscular performance in healthy older adults.
DESIGN: A randomized controlled trial with subjects assigned either to high-intensity resistance training 1 (EX1), 2 (EX2), or 3 (EX3) days per week for 24 weeks or to a control group (CO).
SETTING: An exercise facility at an academic medical center.
SUBJECTS: Forty-six community-dwelling healthy men (n = 29) and women (n = 17) aged 65 to 79 years.
INTERVENTION: Progressive resistance training consisting of three sets of eight exercises targeting major muscle groups of the upper and lower body, at 80% of one-repetition maximum (1-RM) for eight repetitions, either 1, 2, or 3 days per week.
MEASURES: Dynamic muscle strength (1-RM) using isotonic equipment every 4 weeks, bone mineral density and body composition by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and neuromuscular performance by timed chair rise and 6-meter backward tandem walk.
RESULTS: For each of the eight exercises, muscle strength increased in the exercise groups relative to CO (P < .01), with no difference among EX1, EX2 and EX3 groups at any measurement interval. Percent change averaged 3.9 +/- 2.4 (CO), 37.0 +/- 15.2 (EX1), 41.9 +/- 18.2 (EX2), and 39.7 +/- 9.8 (EX3). The time to rise successfully from the chair 5 times decreased significantly (P < .01) at 24 weeks, whereas improvement in the 6-meter backward tandem walk approached significance (P = .10) in the three exercise groups compared with CO. Changes in chair rise ability were correlated to percent changes in quadriceps strength (r = -0.40, P < .01) and lean mass (r = -0.40, P < .01).
CONCLUSIONS: A program of once or twice weekly resistance exercise achieves muscle strength gains similar to 3 days per week training in older adults and is associated with improved neuromuscular performance. Such improvement could potentially reduce the risk of falls and fracture in older adults.
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
- Placebo analgesia in physical and psychological interventions: Systematic review and meta-analysis of three-armed trials. Hohenschurz-Schmidt 2024 Eur J Pain.
- Recovery trajectories in common musculoskeletal complaints by diagnosis contra prognostic phenotypes. Aasdahl 2021 BMC Musculoskelet Disord.
- Cannabidiol (CBD) products for pain: ineffective, expensive, and with potential harms. Moore 2023 J Pain.
- Moderators of the effect of therapeutic exercise for knee and hip osteoarthritis: a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis. Holden 2023 The Lancet Rheumatology.
- Inciting events associated with lumbar disc herniation. Suri 2010 Spine J.