title: The effects of a calisthenics and a light strength training program on lower limb muscle strength and body composition in mature women.
abstract: This study evaluated and compared the effectiveness of an aerobics-calisthenics (A-CAL) and an aerobics/weight training (A-WT) programs on lower limb strength and body fat (%). Thirty-five adult women (age 42.1 +/- 5.2 years) were randomly assigned to A-CAL (n = 14), A-WT (n = 14), or a control group (n = 7). The A-CAL and A-WT trained 3 days per week for 10 weeks. Maximal bilateral isometric and isokinetic knee extension (KEXT) and flexion (KFLEX) torque, squat jump (SJ), and body fat (%) were measured before and immediately after training. The results revealed nonsignificant differences between A-CAL and A-WT (p > 0.05). Both A-CAL and A-WT improved SJ (p < 0.001). A-WT increased isometric torque of KEXT and KFLEX (p < 0.05), isokinetic torque of KFLEX (p < 0.05), and decreased body fat (%) (p < 0.05) when compared with controls. In summary, the application of a 10-week light-weight training program improved selected strength parameters of healthy women, compared with controls, but the effectiveness of the calisthenics exercises as an independent form of strength training is dubious.
authors.affiliation: Human Performance and Coaching Laboratory, Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences of Thessaloniki, Aristotelian University, 54006 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Thomai
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsourlou
authors.forename: Vasilis
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gerodimos
authors.forename: Eleftherios
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kellis
authors.forename: Nikos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Stavropoulos
authors.forename: Spiros
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kellis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001823:Body Composition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D010806:Physical Education and Training / Q000379:methods*; D019415:Torque; D014891:Weight Lifting