Muscular Strength, Functional Fitness, Body Composition, and Quality of Life after 12 Weeks of Detraining in Older Females

Abstract

Abstract Aims The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a 12-week strength training, and 3 months of detraining on physical fitness, body composition, and quality of life. Methods: Twenty women underwent assessments pre- and post-training, and after cessation of training. The measurements included waist-to-hip ratio, muscle mass, fat mass, leg press and seated row strength, functional fitness (SFT), and quality of life physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS). Results: Significant interaction (p < 0.01) was found in all tests except for the PCS. The subjects in the EX group significantly improved in all tests (p < 0.01) from pre- to post-training. However, during the detraining, strength, SFT, and MSC significantly worsened from post- to detraining (p < 0.01). Body composition, except for muscle mass, remained unchanged. Conclusions: It seems that body composition persists for prolonged times, compared to performance characteristics. However, the results should be interpreted with caution, because improvements in body composition had small effects (g = ∼0.20–0.32).