Female Muscle Enhancement

Not Applicable

Completed

Interventions: Behavioral: Supervised resistance exercise program
Behavioral: Unsupervised resistance exercise program

Brief Summary: Participating in regular physical activity has been shown to reduce the risk of developing some diseases and disabilities that can occur with ageing. Muscles naturally decline with age, and in females this appears to occur more so around the time of menopause. Time, work, family commitments and the availability of facilities have all been identified as barriers to exercise in middle age.

Increasing activity levels in middle age appears to improve muscle function and bone health. However, there is a lack of evidence in how muscle function responds to low impact resistance exercise in middle aged females.

This study aims to assess the effectiveness and the mechanisms associated with building muscle as well as the effect on quality of life in middle aged (40-60 years) females using a low impact resistance training programme.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Females aged 40-60 years of age at time of screening.
Body mass index <30kg/m2 and >18.5kg/m2
Considered moderately active according to the 7 day International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) (Craig et al., 2003)
Self-reported as healthy (absence of injury or disease).
Availability and willingness to attended 12 weeks of exercises classes 4-5 times per week at St Luke's Campus Exeter and participate in the study lasting a total of 26 weeks.

Exclusion Criteria

Pregnant, lactating or planning a pregnancy.
Current diagnosis of a chronic disease such as diabetes, autoimmune disease, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease.
Hysterectomy and/or ovariectomy.
Currently prescribed hormone replacement therapy.
Hypertension (BP ≥149/90 mm/Hg)
Either current smoker, or history of smoking in the past 6 months.
Currently taking supplements that have been shown to impact muscle function and muscle mass, such as creatine, in the last 6 months.
Prescribed medications that have been shown to impact muscle function and muscle mass, such as steroids, in the last 6 months.
History of epilepsy.
Current or recent injury within the last 6 months that may affect their ability to carry out the resistance training program.
Advised not to exercise by their General Practitioner or medical professional.
Resistance training consistently for 3 or more times per week for the last 2 months

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Intervention group	Supervised resistance exercise program	Supervised exercise program week 1-12, unsupervised exercise week 13-24.
Intervention group	Unsupervised resistance exercise program	Supervised exercise program week 1-12, unsupervised exercise week 13-24.
Control group	Unsupervised resistance exercise program	Maintain habitual activity week 1-12, unsupervised exercise week 13-24.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Muscle function	12 weeks	Peak torque (Nm) of the shoulder and hip

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Muscle protein synthesis	12 weeks	Rate of muscle protein synthesis
Energy expenditure	12 weeks	Changes in energy expenditure rates
Bone mineral density	12 weeks	Changes in bone mineral density
Physical activity levels	12 weeks	Changes in physical activity energy expenditure as measured using an accelerometer
Exercise program acceptability	12 weeks	Changes in the rating of enjoyment of leisure time activity using the Groningen Enjoyment Questionnaire to rate enjoyment of exercise on a scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree
Changes in balance	12 weeks	Balance measured using the Y-balance test
Changes in flexibility	12 weeks	Flexibility measured using distance (cm) in zipper and sit and reach test
Changes in diabetes risk markers	12 weeks	Changes in biochemical measures of HbA1c
Body composition	12 weeks	Changes in fat mass and lean body mass
Sleep Quality	12 weeks	Changes in sleep quality using the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) questionnaire
Self reported quality of life	12 weeks	Changes in self reported wellbeing measures using the Short Form Survey (SF-36)
Muscle thickness	12 weeks	Changes in muscle thickness
Changes in cardiovascular risk markers	12 weeks	Changes in biochemical lipid profile