Upper-body progressive resistance training improves strength and household physical activity performance in women attending cardiac rehabilitation.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of moderate-intensity, progressive, upper-body resistance training (RT) on muscle strength and perceived performance of household physical activities (HPA) among women in cardiac rehabilitation.


METHODS
The 10-week, pretest-posttest, experiment randomized women to either usual care (UC) aerobic exercise or RT. Muscle strength for 5 upper-body RT exercises (chest press, shoulder press, biceps curl, lateral row, and triceps extension) was measured using the 1-Repetition Maximum Assessment. The RT group progressively increased weight lifted using 40%, 50%, and 60% of obtained 1-Repetition Maximum Assessment at 3-week intervals. Perceived performance of HPA was measured with the Kimble Household Activities Scale.


RESULTS
The RT group (n = 16, mean age 64 +/- 11) significantly increased muscle strength in all 5 exercises in comparison with the UC group (n = 14, mean age 65 +/- 10) (chest press, 18% vs 11%; shoulder press, 24% vs 14%; biceps curl, 21% vs 12%; lateral row, 32% vs 9%; and triceps extension, 28% vs 20%, respectively). By study end, Household Activities Scale scores significantly increased (F = 13.878, P = .001) in the RT group (8.75 +/- 3.19 vs 11.25 +/- 2.14), whereas scores in the UC group decreased (8.60 +/- 3.11 vs 6.86 +/- 4.13).


CONCLUSIONS
Progressive upper-body RT in women shows promise as an effective tool to increase muscle strength and improve the ability to perform HPA after a cardiac event. Beginning RT early after a cardiac event in a monitored cardiac rehabilitation environment can maximize the strengthening benefit.
Coke
Lola A
LA
Rush University, College of Nursing, Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA. Lola_Coke@rush.edu
Staffileno
Beth A
BA
Braun
Lynne T
LT
Gulanick
Meg
M
D000368:Aged; D001132:Arm / Q000502:physiology; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D017079:Exercise Tolerance / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D017006:Rotator Cuff / Q000502:physiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome