Effects of walking, jogging and cycling on strength, flexibility, speed and balance in 60- to 72-year olds.

The effects of a moderate intensity endurance training program on strength, speed of muscle contraction, balance, gait and flexibility were assessed in fifty 60- to 72-year-old men and women who had just completed a 3-month program of flexibility and strengthening exercise. Subjects trained for approximately 45 minutes/day, 4.1 days a week, for one year. Before and after the endurance exercise program, exercise participants underwent isometric and dynamic strength testing (Cybex II), standing balance tests, a gait examination, lower extremity flexibility testing, and a fatigue test for the quadriceps femoris muscle group. Fifteen control subjects who did not exercise were tested at the same time periods as exercise subjects. Gains made during the low intensity strengthening and flexibility program in strength, range of motion and quadriceps endurance were maintained throughout the year of endurance exercise training. Additional significant improvements in speed of muscular contraction, walking velocity and standing balance occurred with the program of moderate intensity endurance training which produced a 24% increase in VO2max for men and a 21% increase for women. These results provide additional evidence that older adults are able to improve their functional capacity in response to exercise training.