TRANSFER OF POST-INERTIAL TRAINING GAINS TO FUNCTIONAL FITNESS OF PHYSICALLY ACTIVE OLDER WOMEN

The aims of this study were to estimate the influence of inertial training on knee extensor muscle strength and power and evaluate the effect of that training on functional fitness in physically active older women. Twenty-two physically active women ages 58-70 years were randomly divided into a training (T) and a control groups (C). The T group performed inertial training using the ITMS three times per week for five weeks. Each training session included three exercise sets involving the knee extensor muscles. The 30-second chair stand, 8-ft up-and-go, and stair climbing tests were used to estimation of functional fitness. Significant post-training increases of average force (55%) and power (62%) were noted in the T group (p ≤ 0.05). No significant magnitudes of changes were observed in the C group. Changes in functional tests did not differ significantly between T group (2.9-5.6%) and C group (0.6-5.4%). Post-training changes on ITMS were not significantly correlated with changes in functional tests. Inertial training proposed here induced significant improvements in knee muscle strength and power in physically active older women, but the transfer of post-training gains to functional fitness was poor. It seems that the 30-second chair stand, 8-ft up-and-go, and stair climbing tests are undemanding tests for women with very good functional mobility and further study to estimate post-inertial training transfer should be done using more demanding tests for this sub-population.