Prescription of resistance training for sarcopenic older adults: Does it require specific attention?

Sarcopenia is an age-related neuromuscular disease characterized by substantial muscle atrophy, dynapenia and/or loss of physical function. Sarcopenia progression increases the risk for numerous negative events, including falls, disability, hospitalization, nursing home placement, and death. As such, this condition is recognized as an important topic in gerontology and geriatrics. The best approach to counteract the development and progression of sarcopenia is actively debated. Resistance training (RT) has received special attention in this context, owing to the large number of studies showing its ability to produce significant improvements in sarcopenia-related parameters. Recommendations to guide RT prescription for older adults with different conditions, including people who have traits of sarcopenia, have been published. Some authors have argued that RT guidelines for older adults are similar to one another, which may indicate that the presence of sarcopenia does not require specific physical exercise programs. However, older people with sarcopenia might present with peculiar physical, biomechanical, physiological, and psychosocial characteristics that, in our view, are not taken into adequate consideration in existing exercise guidelines. Here, we present evidence to support the view that RT prescription for older adults with sarcopenia is complex, multifactorial, and still needs more evidence.