While most people think of lifting heavy weights as the best way to get strong, there are other ways to perform resistance training to increase strength. In fact, researchers recently explored the difference between training with dumbbells and training with elastic bands for older adults. Specifically, 65 healthy older adults were randomly assigned into one of three different groups. One group, known as the control group, continued to live life as normal, while the two other groups performed resistance training two days per week for six weeks. One of these groups trained with dumbbells and the other trained with elastic bands. One of the most important findings of this study was that at the end of the six weeks, both exercise groups showed improvements in arm muscle size. The dumbbell group experienced larger changes than the control group in strength measures and saw larger changes than the elastic band group for upper body strength (measured by maximal bench press). This led researchers to the conclusion that although dumbbell training may result in superior strength improvements, elastic band training can be beneficial for older adults and has advantages due to its affordability and portability.

Resistance training, in general, is great for health! That’s part of why the PAAD2 study at UNCG includes elastic band training as a portion of our exercise protocol. The brain likely benefits from resistance training along with cardiovascular exercise. Help researchers learn more about the relationship between exercise and Alzheimer’s disease by working with the PAAD2 study – learn if you’re eligible to participate here!