Title

Effect of Aerobic and Resistance Training on Fractionated Reaction Time and Speed of Movement

Authors

Lynn Bishop Panton
James Graves PhD, University of Southern MaineFollow
Michael L. Pollock
James M. Hagberg
William Chen

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1990

Publication Title

Journal of Gerontology

Keywords

Exercise, physical fitness, psychomotor performance, age / psychology

Abstract

To evaluate the effect of aerobic and variable resistance exercise training on fractionated reaction time (RT) and speed of movement (SM) in elderly individuals, premotor time (PMT), motor time (MT), total RT, and SM were measured in 49 healthy, untrained men and women, 70 to 79 years of age, before and after 6 months of training. Subjects were randomized into either a walk/jog (n = 17), a strength training (n = 20), or a control group (n = 12). Improvements in aerobic capacity were only weakly related to reduced total RT (r = 0.30, p less than .05). Analysis of covariance revealed that there were no differences (p greater than .05) among the three groups after training with respect to PMT, MT, total RT, and SM. These findings indicate that 6 months of aerobic and strength training did not induce significant changes in RT or SM in this group.

Recommended Citation

Panton, Lynn Bishop; Graves, James PhD; Pollock, Michael L.; Hagberg, James M.; and Chen, William, "Effect of Aerobic and Resistance Training on Fractionated Reaction Time and Speed of Movement" (1990). Department of Exercise, Health and Sport Science. 91.
https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/sportscience/91