Poznan University of Physical Education, 61-871 Poznan, Poland.
National Research Institute, 03-301 Warsaw, Poland.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Mar 25;17(7):2197. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17072197.
Inadequate levels of physical activity among older people lead to a gradual decline in self-reliance and consequent dependence on other people. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of Nordic walking training with poles with an integrated resistance shock absorber on the functional fitness of older women. Forty-two women ( = 64.7 ± 3.15 years) were randomly assigned into the experimental group-training with poles with an integrated resistance shock absorber, EG ( = 21) and the control active group-training with classic poles, CG ( = 21). Functional fitness was measured with the Senior Fitness Test before and after an intervention lasting for 8 weeks (2 training sessions × 75 minutes per week). Two-way ANOVA revealed statistically significant interaction effects for aerobic endurance ( = 14.47, < 0.001) and upper body strength ( = 5.98, < 0.05), indicating greater improvement in the experimental group. Nordic walking training both with classic poles and with poles with an integrated resistance shock absorber is beneficial for older people and improves functional fitness over a short time period. However, the poles with an integrated resistance shock absorber provide additional resistance effort during marching, which causes increased muscle activation and results in improved muscle strength and aerobic endurance. Based on these results, it can be concluded that this kind of training could be applied in the complex health programs of seniors.
老年人身体活动不足会导致其自理能力逐渐下降，并因此依赖他人。本研究旨在评估使用带集成阻力减震器的北欧式行走杖进行训练对老年女性功能性健身的影响。42 名女性（=64.7±3.15 岁）被随机分为实验组（使用带集成阻力减震器的行走杖训练，EG=21 人）和对照组（使用经典行走杖进行主动训练，CG=21 人）。干预持续 8 周（每周 2 次训练，每次 75 分钟），在干预前后使用老年人健康测试（Senior Fitness Test）测量功能性健身。双向方差分析显示，有氧耐力（=14.47，<0.001）和上肢力量（=5.98，<0.05）的交互作用具有统计学意义，表明实验组的改善更为显著。使用经典行走杖和带集成阻力减震器的行走杖进行北欧式行走训练对老年人有益，可以在短时间内提高功能性健身水平。然而，带集成阻力减震器的行走杖在行走时会提供额外的阻力，从而增加肌肉激活，提高肌肉力量和有氧耐力。基于这些结果，可以得出结论，这种训练可以应用于老年人的综合健康计划中。
