Strength Training — Enhancing Elder Fitness

By NovaLeigh Dodge-Krupa, PT, and Aimee E. Perron, PT, DPT, NCS

Enhancing older adults’ physical strength and endurance increases the potential for individuals to retain physical function and live independently.

Physical therapists can influence elders’ overall health and wellness by providing services that positively impact physical fitness. Such services include interventions that affect cardiovascular/pulmonary endurance; muscle strength, power, endurance, and flexibility; relaxation; and body composition. Older adults’ tendency to become more sedentary creates a challenge; it increases the risk of their losing functional ability, as well as their functional independence.

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