Strength that Lasts

The scene never fails to shock people. Walking past the weight room at the Escalante Senior Center, visitors glimpse a 92-year-old man pushing 350 pounds on the leg press machine. A gray-haired lady squeezes out one last repetition on the shoulder press. Another is doing biceps curls with free weights.

“Invariably, people ask if this is safe for them to do,” says Wayne Phillips, an ASU professor of exercise science and director of the weight training program at Escalante. “Not only is it safe, it’s beneficial.”

Phillips studies the effects of weight training on the health of older adults. He hopes to improve the health and expand the physical capability of seniors participating in his program.

The program consists of six exercises: chest press, leg press, shoulder press, seated row, triceps press, and bicep curl. Participants execute just one set of 12 to 15 repetitions, to fatigue. In other words, they lift enough weight that they cannot physically manage more than 15 reps. The entire workout only takes 20 minutes to a half-hour, three times a week. The results are positive.

To date, Phillips’ research results indicate that after 12 weeks on the program, participants show an improvement in physical function. The improvement is measured by their performance on three tests.

Subjects sit in a chair as part of the first test. They stand up and then sit down as many times as they can in 30 seconds.

The second test measures the time it takes for a subject to rise from a chair, walk quickly around a cone, and sit down again.

The third test measures how many times the subject can lift a weight onto a shelf from a seated position.

Phillips found that the participants ability to do these tasks increased by a margin of 22 to 34 percent. He compared an individual’s performance on Day 1 with that after 12 weeks in the program.

Matt Essex is an ASU research specialist who works with Phillips. As part of the research for his master’s thesis, Essex compared blood lipid levels among 14 of Escalante’s weight-lifters and 14 non-exercising controls.

“We basically found that the workout program had positive effects,” he says. “People not in the program worsened quickly. People in the program didn’t get worse, and some got better.”

He says that the positive results included raised levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL or “good” cholesterol) in the blood of people taking part in the exercise program. Those same people also had decreased levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL or “bad” cholesterol).

The researchers also measure self-efficacy and quality of life as reported by participants. While more difficult to measure, these factors are probably the most meaningful to the participants.

Phillips shares a story to illustrate.

“Hazel is one of our regulars,” he says. “Last year she came in and told us that the television set in her living room had broken. ‘Do you know what I did?’ she said. ‘I went into the bedroom and picked up the other TV and brought it into the living room. I could never have done that without your strength training.’

“Could she have done it without strength training? I don’t know. I do know that she probably never would have tried,” Phillips adds.

Phillips says he still battles the stereotype that senior citizens shouldn’t exert themselves.

“When I first started there weren’t many studies on the effects of strength training on seniors. It was assumed to be contraindicative for older people,” he explains. “It is now pretty well accepted among scientists that strength training is a good thing. Still, there are some people who are still surprised that it’s okay,” he says.

Another common misconception is that a lighter workout, using lower weight or exercise bands, will have the same health effects as a workout with heavier resistance.

“You need to be lifting about 70 percent of your maximum ability. For our group, the average intensity is around 75 percent. We raise the weight once the person can do at least 12 reps consistently,” says Phillips.

Many participants at Escalante are hesitant at first. Phillips and his assistants encourage them by saying, “If you can do more, you’ll get more health benefits.”

Webster Willieford has been with the program since it began three years ago. After finishing his weightlifting for the day, he stops to say goodbye to Phillips. He is quick to proudly add, “Be sure to mention that I’m 92 years old and married for 71 years!”

He should be proud, and Phillips and Essex obviously feel the same. They speak fondly of current and past participants.

“Bob, the ex-Marine, is at the maximum weight level for the leg press. On the standing up test, he is as good as he can get. He can’t do any more reps because you simply can’t move that fast. We love him but he screws up our averages!” jokes Phillips.

“Richard was our hooligan,” he adds, referring to a participant who recently passed away. “He would climb up on the weight machines and race people down the halls. He would tell us stories of his coal mining days.”

Essex adds, “Most of these people are no strangers to hard work. It’s just that people tell them they shouldn’t exercise because they are older.”

Those people are being proven wrong.

Phillips says that most observers focus on the impressive amount of weight the participants lift. But what really keeps people like Webster and Bob coming back is the workout’s effect on their daily activities.

“What’s important to these people is not doing aerobics or having washboard abs,” he says. “They like being able to do the laundry. They like being able to play with their grandkids.”—Diane Boudreau