title: Positive effects of 1-year football and strength training on mechanical muscle function and functional capacity in elderly men.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A decline in physical capacity takes place with increasing age that negatively affects overall physical function including work ability and the ability to perform typical activities of daily living (ADL). The overall aim of the present study was to determine the neuromuscular adaptations to long-term (1 year) football and strength training in older untrained adults, and to assess the concurrent effect on functional ADL capacity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-seven healthy elderly males (68.2 ± 3.2 years) were randomly assigned to 12 months of either recreational football training (FT: n = 10), strength training (ST: n = 9) or served as inactive controls (CON: n = 8). Recreational football training consisted of small-sided training sessions whereas strength training consisted of high intensity exercises targeting the lower extremity and upper body. Maximal thigh muscle strength and rate of force development (RFD) were assessed with isokinetic dynamometry, while postural balance and vertical jumping performance were evaluated using force plate analysis. Furthermore, functional ability was evaluated by stair-ascent and chair-rising testing.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of nine, nine and seven participants from FT, ST and CON, respectively, were included in the analysis. Both exercise regimens led to substantial gains in functional ability, evidenced by 24 and 18 % reduced stair-ascent time, and 32 and 21 % increased chair-rising performance in FT and ST, respectively (all P < 0.05). Long-term strength training led to increased concentric (14 %; P < 0.01) and isometric (23 %; P < 0.001) quadriceps and isometric hamstring strength (44 %; P < 0.0001), whereas football training mainly resulted in enhanced hamstring strength (18 %, P < 0.05) and RFD (89 %, P < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Long-term (1 year) strength training led to increased quadriceps and hamstring strength, whereas the adaptations to football training mainly included enhanced strength and rapid force capacity of the hamstring muscles. Gains in functional ability were observed in response to both training regimens, evidenced by reduced stair-ascent time and increased chair-rising performance. Long-term football exercise and strength training both appear to be effective interventional strategies to improve factors of importance for ADL by counteracting the age-related decline in lower limb strength and functional capacity among old male adults. This could potentially be a way to improve work ability of senior workers.
authors.affiliation: National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Lersø Parkallé 105, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark. emilsundstrup@gmail.com.|Institute of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, Muscle Physiology and Biomechanics Research Unit, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark. emilsundstrup@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Emil
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sundstrup
authors.affiliation: National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Lersø Parkallé 105, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark.|Institute of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, Muscle Physiology and Biomechanics Research Unit, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
authors.forename: Markus Due
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Jakobsen
authors.affiliation: National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Lersø Parkallé 105, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark.|Physical Activity and Human Performance Group, SMI, Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, 9220, Aalborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Lars Louis
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Copenhagen Centre for Team Sport and Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Thomas Rostgaard
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Copenhagen Centre for Team Sport and Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Morten Bredsgaard
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Randers
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Xlab, Center of Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jørn Wulff
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Helge
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine & PET, Rigshospitalet Glostrup, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Suetta
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Copenhagen Centre for Team Sport and Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.|Department of Cardiology, Gentofte Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jakob Friis
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Copenhagen Centre for Team Sport and Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bangsbo
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Copenhagen Centre for Team Sport and Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.|Sport and Health Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Krustrup
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, Muscle Physiology and Biomechanics Research Unit, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aagaard
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology; D000368:Aged; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000379:methods; D017079:Exercise Tolerance / Q000502:physiology*; D005538:Football / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D064797:Physical Conditioning, Human / Q000379:methods*; D055070:Resistance Training / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Activities of daily living; CMJ; Hamstring; Muscle strength; Postural balance; Quadriceps; RFD; Sit-to-stand