PSU Magazine Summer 1988

cooperati on , support and assistance." Two organization s which had fund ed the first research projec t - the Autzen Foundation and the American Heart Associat ion , Oregon Affiliate - also agreed to fund the second one. M en and women ages 65 and over were recruited as test subj ects. Several of the volunteers lived at Terwilliger Plaza, a retirement living complex conve– niently located near the M etro Center YMCA. After a prelimin ary health screening, the subj ects who ranged up to 85 years of age were divided into three testing groups: those in Group 1 were given an aerobic workout at 70 percent of their measured phys ical work capaci– ty (or fatigue threshold); Group 2 had their workout set at 85 percent; and 17 subjects in Group 3 function– ed as a control group and were simply tested and re-tested at the beginning and end of the study with no fitn ess exercising allowed in between . The 36 subjects in Groups 1 and 2 went to work, training at their assigned workloads for 30 minutes a session, three days each week for ten weeks, with their performance measured consistentl y. Dedicati on to the cause became so pronounced that their combined attendance rate for all exercise sessions was 98 .6 per– cent. "These people we re phenomenal," Schendel stressed. To the uninitiated who might have happened on the scene, it must have presented a singular sight: on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, up to six seniors could be seen riding exercycles, decked in ear– phones, listening to a steady metronome beat which kept their pedaling constant - all in the name of science. But the results of their labors en– couraged everyone. The subjects ex– ercised at a comfortable rate, and all improved their fitness in a statistical– ly significant way as measured by the test. These findings have important practical uses, Schendel said . • Since the test is sub-maximal and therefore safer to use th an tradi– tional tests, it can establish one's safe workload befo re starting a fitn ess training program. • Workl oads can then ·be set at modes t levels and still give measurabl e results. For example, seniors who exercis– ed at the 70 percent rate still made significant improvement in their work capacity during the study, in .. . there was the knowledge tlw.t they were contributing something of real valU£ to scient~ts, and potentwlly to people everywhere... part because they were consistent in their exercising. "That's an important finding," said Schendel, " because it means we can assure people that they can get improvement in their fitn ess with very modest workloads, as long as they're consistent in its application." "And they don't have to hurt to improve," he added . In view of the test results , Schendel speculates that cardiovas– cular and muscular system exercises involving the legs - such as walk- m 12 ing, could produce for many older people a training benefit similar to that accomplished in the st ud y. There were other benefit s as well for the study pa rti cipants: a sense of camaraderie encouragin g them to show up for each d ay's test ing, as well as the sati sfaction of taking an act ive role in improving their per– sonal fitn ess. The electrical impulses generated by working leg muscles are measured by this specially-designed, exercy cle– mounted scale. But most of all, there was the knowledge that they were con– tributing something of real value to scientists, and potentially to people everywhere engaged in the life-long search for a safe, workable way to improve the quality of life. This research is still so new that no scientific (let alone popular) publication has printed its findin gs. Until this occurs, the study cannot begin to attain its anticipated accep– tance in the scientifi c community. Not only do most professionals not know about the test, but they don' t even have the technology to apply the new knowledge, says Schendel. What's next on the researchers' horizon? If time and money can be found , perhaps a similar testing pro– cedure involving cardiac rehabilita– tion patients. Any takers out there? PSU