Enhancing Strength Gains With the Power of the Mind

Kennesaw State University

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Healthy

Treatments: Behavioral: Elastic Band Training; Behavioral: Elastic Band Training with Maximal Mental Effort

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06099678

2024-Harper

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine the effect of maximal mental effort combined with elastic band training on strength and neuromuscular function in healthy, older females. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Does elastic band training in combination with maximal mental effort increase strength more than elastic band training alone?
• Does elastic band training in combination with maximal mental effort improve neuromuscular function more than elastic band training alone?

Participants will be randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups:

• Elastic band training
• Elastic band training with maximal mental effort
• Control

Researchers will compare groups to determine differences in changes in strength, neuromuscular function, and body composition.

Full description

Participants in both training groups will perform 6 weeks of moderate intensity, whole-body elastic band training. Participants in the control group will participate in all testing procedures but not perform any training. Participants from both groups will be instructed to maintain their normal physical activity levels and dietary habits.

All training sessions will be home-based and virtually supervised by research personnel. Participants will complete 2 training sessions in the first week and 3 training sessions per week for the remaining 5 weeks. Each training session will last about 45-60 minutes and consist of 7 exercises performed in the same order by each participant, including both multi-joint (chair squat, chest press, leg press, back row) and single-joint (knee extension, knee flexion, elbow flexion) exercises. Participants will perform 12 repetitions for each exercise for the first 3 weeks, then volume will be increased by progressing to 4 sets for the remaining 3 weeks. There will be a 60-second rest interval between sets and a similar tempo will be used between groups.

Both training groups will perform the same training protocol, but participants in the maximal mental effort group will mentally urge their muscles to contract maximally during each repetition. That is, despite using a moderate intensity, participants will imagine the feeling of maximal muscle contraction of the primary muscles during each repetition.

Several measures of strength, neuromuscular function, physical function, and body composition will be measured before and after the training or control period.

Enrollment: 45 estimated patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 65 to 79 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Between 65-79 years of age
• Female
• Have not engaged in structured exercise for 3 years
• Are not reliant upon a walking aid
• Be able to rise from a chair unassisted
• BMI between 25-33 kg/m²
• Have access to the internet and access to a smartphone or computer with a camera at home

Exclusion criteria

• Any history of cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, or metabolic diseases
• Musculoskeletal injury within the past 6 months
• Any condition affecting muscle function
• Uncontrolled hypertension
• Score less than 23 on the Mini-mental State Exam
• Upon starting study, missing more than 2 training session

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

---

45 participants in 3 patient groups

Elastic Band Training

Experimental group

Description:

This group will perform moderate intensity, whole-body elastic band training.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Elastic Band Training

Elastic Band Training with Maximal Mental Effort

Experimental group

Description:

This group will perform moderate intensity, whole-body elastic band training with maximal mental effort during muscle contraction.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Elastic Band Training with Maximal Mental Effort

Control

No Intervention group

Description:

This group will not perform any training and maintain their regular level of physical activity.