Football 4 Health in Middle-aged to Older Adults

Maximal power,Maximal force,Maximal velocity,Slope of F-V profile

Ageing in humans is accompanied by a progressive decline in lower-limb muscle power
 production. In addition to a decline in musculoskeletal fitness, ageing is associated with a
 reduction in cardiovascular and metabolic fitness. Therefore, if exercise interventions aim
 for a high impact on the overall health status of middle-aged and older adults, they should
 combine endurance, high-intensity interval training and muscular strengthening activities.
 Recreational football training combines all these training components, which implies that it
 could constitute an adequate training modality for participants of all ages. What remains to
 be investigated in more detail, is whether recreational football training can improve muscle
 power production in middle-aged to older adults and whether this potential improvement is
 present across the full force-velocity (F-V) profile. Next to a detailed analysis of the
 leg-extensor F-V profile as primary outcome, simultaneous effects on functional capacity,
 body composition and endurance exercise capacity were investigated. In addition, feasibility
 and the physical demands (internal and external load indicators) of the training program were
 tracked throughout the intervention period.