Strategy for Increased Levels of Functional
Capacity and Independence in Elderly People
Cleiton França Tavares1, Luis Felipe Milano Teixeira2, Douglas
Farias da Silva Santos1, Erico Chagas Caperuto3,4, Luis Fernando
de Lima Paulo1, Elias de França3,4, Vinícius Barroso Hirota1,4
Department of Physical Education, Nossa Cidade College – São Paulo, Brazil;
Department of Physical Education, UNIFIEO – São Paulo, Brazil;
3
Department of Physical Education, São Judas University – São Paulo, Brazil;
*4
Department of Physical Education, Mackenzie Presbyterian University – São Paulo, Brazil; Mackenzie Av., 905,
06460-130 - Barueri, São Paulo, Brazil
1
2
Abstract: This review article aims to discuss the relationship between power training and the elderly. Thus, we
present a literature review on the conceptual path of the aging process and how this type of training can influence an
individual's life, focusing on moments of this route where you can find the power of an aid training to improve
functional capacity and independence of it, highlighting the importance of the strategies that the physical education
professional should take to provide such results.
Keywords: Aging, Functional Capacity, Quality of Life
INTRODUCTION
Over the years, several authors have studied the
factors that influence the aging process and what
happens to the individual aging, throughout this
process, and most often the elderly tends to reduce
their interaction with the world, becoming physically
inactive, sedentary, fragile and prone to increase their
levels of chronic illnesses and diseases, reducing and
lowering your expectation and / or quality of life.
Influenced by lack of physical activity leading to
these disorders come and damaging more and more
the person of life in larger stage of aging,
representing a serious public health problem (Lacourt
and Marini, 2006; Neri, 2001, Okuma, 1998).
For such degenerative framework be minimized and /
or stabilized, should provide individualized and
properly oriented activities by qualified professionals
in prescribing training, making it necessary to
understand the fitness levels where your customers
are and thus trace goals safe, efficient and planned
manner, contributing to the improvement and/ or
maintenance of functional capacity and independence
of the elderly in carrying out their daily activities,
increasing and / or improving their expectation and/
or quality of life (Prestes et al., 2010).
Following this line of research, this work comes the
case, to find out if the power training can be harmful
for the elderly and what it can contribute to that
person. And from that troubled look in the literature
if this type of training contributes or not in
expectation and quality of life of the elderly.
Nowadays, we discuss much about the physical
activities and the participation of individuals in
training programs, along these lines, the aim of this
article is to discuss the relationship of power training
in the elderly and the benefits it can provide the
capacity levels and functional independence.
The methodology used in this study was the method
of literature review. Being developed based on
already prepared material, this type of research
should be clear and well-defined research topic, ie
what you want to know about a subject. Having a
good delimitation, the subject may not be very
comprehensive, as this can hinder search (Mattos et
al., 2008; Marconi and Lakatos, 2007; Gil, 2002).
THE AGING PROCESS
Today we discuss a lot about the factors that
influence the aging. This process is determined by
biological factors that cause structural changes in the
This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. Publication rights with IRJ.Science.
Published at: http://www.irj.science/pub/issue/2015-06/
Article Number: 120150657; ISSN 2412-026X



Vinícius Barroso Hirota (Correspondence)
[email protected]
05511 35552131
Strategy for Increased Levels of Functional Capacity and Independence in Elderly People
body and damage to various organ systems in the
living throughout life, changing its functions,
affecting their physical fitness limiting their
movements, influencing directly in its activities,
commitment that is found the elderly in this age
group between 86-88 years of age, i.e., the functional
ability to perform tasks of day to day life and their
quality of life, decreasing its interaction with the
world, reducing its functional independence,
reflecting negatively on health by reducing and
limiting the expectation and quality of life of the
individual aging (ACSM, 2010; Pedrinelli et al.,
2009; Fleck and Kraemer, 2006; Lacourt and Marini,
2006; Neri, 2001; Okuma,1998)
In addition, conceptualized as a heterogeneous,
dynamic and progressive process aging happens
individually occurring differently for individuals,
influenced by their life history. As you increase the
chronological age people become less active by lack
of physical activity, their physical capabilities
diminish, physiological functions entail damage,
decreased social interaction because susceptible
increasing disinterest in performing tasks or to
communicate with others, accumulating risks by
disuse of the body allowing the appearance and / or
presence of pathologies and chronic diseases causing
major inconvenience for that individual (Schneider
and Irigaray, 2008; Lacourt and Marini, 2006; Netto,
2002; Neri, 2001; Okuma, 1998).
Older age, physical inactivity, decreased levels of
steroid hormones, decreased protein intake directly
assist in the reduction of lean mass, these being the
main factors for the process known as sarcopenia
adversely affecting and affects physical performance
even in healthy individuals, making the various loss
muscular system of their skills, thus reducing their
maximum strength and muscle power, changes
affecting the elderly to decreased mobility, loss of
balance, bone weakness, joint pain, increasing
functional disability and its dependence on the
activities, resulting in the quality of life and can lead
to more serious consequences such as falls and
fractures interfering the protective mechanism may
cause injuries that can lead to death, representing a
serious public health problem (Correa and Pinto,
2011; Pedrinelli et al., 2009; Bessa and Barros, 2009;
Schneider and Irigaray, 2008; Guedes, 2006; Silva et
al., 2006; Fleck and Kraemer, 2006; Matsudo et al.,
2000).
Because the proportion of falls and fractures caused
by the reduction of the speed of muscle contraction
and loss of muscle strength, Pedrinelli et al. (2009)
display a concern with this event and say to the old
muscle power is a key factor to improve daily
activities, independence and quality of life.
The adoption of the regular training program brings
many benefits and helps in maintaining health,
increasing physical fitness, functional capacity, to
maintain physical independence, in reducing the risk
of falls and fractures, helping the defense
mechanisms improve, prevent and improve their
quality of life (Correa and Pinto, 2011; ACSM, 2010;
Pedrinelli et al., 2009; Guedes, 2006; Silva et al.,
2006; Skelton and Beyer, 2003).
POWER
TRAINING,
SPORTY
AND
FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY
Currently, the literature has attributed great
importance to strength training to improve quality of
life, health maintenance, the population in general, as
well as improvement in high yield. Considering such
amounts, the understanding of the mechanisms
responsible for adaptations resulting from strength
training by the coaches and/ or teachers who work
directly or indirectly in the individual's development
process is necessary for maximizing the benefits that
training offers.
Moreover, a set of distinct variables that combine to
improve performance or improve functional capacity,
specific training could be work way to enable
favoring specific skills in this complex process
(Correa and Pinto, 2011; Fleck and Kraemer, 2006;
Santarem, 1999). McArdle et al. (2008), says that the
stimulation of structural and functional adaptations is
due to the specificity of the exercises in the
improvement of performance in specific tasks is the
main objective in terms of physical fitness and create
significant effects on individuals due to the training.
We can characterize the functional capacity as a
condition of the individual to live independently;
interacting with their social environment, i.e., the loss
of this ability places the individual at risk and
deprives society (Nogueira et al., 2010).
We can characterize as a potency as a combination of
speed and force, and that the greater one of these
capabilities, the greater the generation of power
(Uchida et al., 2013)
So the potency training aims to increase the speed of
muscle contraction, where its potential tends to have
a greater recruitment of motor units, providing
greater involvement of muscle fibers offering greater
security for the joints, promoted by a more answers
rapid central nervous system, these effects result in
strength gains that added speed in the execution gives
us the muscle potentiates, allowing improve the
performance of daily activities and enhance training,
reduce and / or prevent the risk drops, increase
agility, coordination, speed, increase and / or
promoting the maintenance of functional capacity,
independence and health benefits (Andrade and
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Strategy for Increased Levels of Functional Capacity and Independence in Elderly People
Matsudo, 2010; Lacourt and Marini, 2006; Fleck and
Kraemer, 2006; Pinno and González, 2005; Bompa,
2002; Santarem, 1999; Uchida et al., 2013).
Accordance with Uchida et al. (2013), Prestes et al.
(2010), Guedes (2006), Fleck e Kraemer (2006) and
Bompa (2002), the basis for the protocols to be use
for power training are:
• Load: 30-60% of 1 MS (Maximum Strength).
Reaching up to 90% of 1 Resistance Max;
• Speed: Fast, Explosive and continues;
• Series: 3-5;
• Reps: 6 to 8. Since the literature brings us a 10-retry
limit;
• Interval between sets: 3-5 minutes. It may be
modified due to the level that the individual is;
• Interval training sessions: 48 to 96 hours an average
of.
The periodization is a necessary tool to optimize
training, aiming to control the variables,
implementation of strategic phase and the specific
charges, causing the alternating stimuli, intended to
lead to great gains in strength, power, engine
performance, endurance and/ or hypertrophy, regulate
the period and making efficient recovery time.
Emerging as a way to facilitate and make more
effective the organization of a training program, the
periodization consists of organizational changes and
planning of means, methods of acute and chronic
changes in a training program, setting and should be
individualized to provide the improvement of all
motor qualities adapting to the strengths and
weaknesses of each individual, whether an athlete or
not, about to reach the goal of effectively and safely
enhancing the result due to the adjustments provided
by the coach in short, medium and long term (Prestes
et al., 2010; McArdle, et al., 2008; Guedes, 2006;
Fleck and Kraemer, 2006; Bompa, 2002).
The strategies to be offered to provide benefits to
customers should be individualized in order to have a
custom control that can be prescribed from a physical
assessment, identifying and meeting the needs and
can apply this assessment every three months, so that
we could see if there were improvements during these
periods, split the training program monocycle’s to
work different skills, abilities and specific training,
have a progressive increase and keep the stimuli
proposed during the activities, control stimuli
variations lest occasion stagnation, respect the
characteristics of each program and to changes in
schedule (Prestes et al., 2010; Fleck and Kraemer,
2006; Guedes, 2006; Bompa, 2002).
So the power training comes as an important tool to
improve the different functions of the locomotors
system and enhance the performance of daily
activities
and
training,
increasing
agility,
coordination, speed, increasing and/ or promoting the
maintenance of functional capacity, independence
and reducing falls resulting health benefits may well
meet the needs and ace health of every person,
regardless of age.
THE POWER TRAINING IN THE ELDERLY
The absence of physical activity caused by modern
lifestyle, the future can compromise the functional
capacity to perform routine activities, directly
interfering with dependency and quality of life of the
elderly. This factor may be associated with
sarcopenia, which is a decrease of the increased
cross-sectional skeletal muscle degenerative this is
detrimental for the elderly due to the increase of its
dependence and falls causing fractures and injuries
that may cause death by reducing and limiting the
expectancy and quality of life of the individual aging,
reflecting negatively on their health (Polito, 2010;
Neri, 2001; Okuma, 1998).
For more complex the operational definition of
functional capacity, it is the individual presents the
degree of preservation of the ability to perform basic
activities of daily life. Features such as reduced
muscle function is due to the aging process causing
damage to many different systems and directly
affects the ability to perform their tasks of day life,
reducing levels of physical fitness, causing a decrease
in strength, power and time muscle reaction (Correa
and Pinto, 2011; Lacourt and Marini, 2006; Rosa et
al., 2003; Neri, 2001)
To Pedrinelli et al. (2009), the loss of muscle strength
and power directly affect the ability to generate joint
torque fast.
Thus, some studies show that power is a determining
factor for improving independence and quality of life
of seniors, and is the best indicator for prevention of
falls and maintenance of daily activities (Pedrinelli et
al., 2009; Lacourt and Marini, 2006; Skelton and
Beyer 2003; Okuma, 1998).
The adoption of training programs has shown great
benefits to maximizing the adaptive responses to
strength training, and thus improving the capabilities
of the elderly in their daily activities, as well as
increasing and maintaining the quality of life (Polito,
2010; Fleck and Kraemer, 2006).
Several authors show that the muscular power
training aims to increase muscle contraction speed,
agility, coordination, speed, promoting the
maintenance
of
functional
capacity
and
independence, which generated the quick response of
the central nervous system, provides many health
benefits. The exercises enable us to stimulate the
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Strategy for Increased Levels of Functional Capacity and Independence in Elderly People
power of work could be performed with machines,
free weights and plyometrics, and the safest devices
at the beginning of the program. These methods have
a strategy to preserve the joints and perform the
movements more efficiently, reducing the risk of
injury. The studies cited by these authors show that
many are the determining factors for individual
variation, mainly by the level of physical fitness
(Correa and Pinto, 2011; McArdle et al., 2008;
Lacourt and Marini, 2006; Fleck and Kraemer, 2006;
Pinno and González, 2005; Bompa, 2002; Santarem,
1999).
the individual characteristics of each student, thus
enabling an increase, improvement and / or
maintenance in expectation and quality of life of the
individual ages.
Therefore, we must develop training strategies,
followed by a plan in order to minimize the adverse
effects effected by the loss of muscle mass that are
influenced by lack of physical activity, sedentary
lifestyle, disease and / or chronic diseases. These
methods and strategies can provide an improvement
and / or maintenance of functional capacity and
independence of the elderly, increase their interaction
with the world, socialization, independence and
performance of activities of daily living, decreasing
the risk of falls and injury, influencing positively in
anticipation and quality of life of the individual ages.
3)
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CONCLUSION
Advancing age can bring many losses for the
individual, problems often with the prevalence of
some pathology, chronic diseases, convenience of the
modern world, physical inactivity among others,
causing many disorders, thus impairing the health and
quality of individual life.
In addition, aging a factor affecting an individual
basis, the adoption of a training program can reduce
and / or maintenance of the quality of life of that
individual practitioner of physical activities.
Providing health benefits increasing and / or
improving the life expectancy of this person, the
power training comes as a way to leverage the
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improving
coordination,
increasing
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contraction speed, movement speed, improved
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