Estimating physical working capacity and training changes in the elderly at the fatigue threshold (PWCft)

The test for estimating physical working capacity at the fatigue threshold (PWC_ft), previously validated for young men, was evaluated for use with elderly men and women. A sample of 27 volunteer subjects (67·6 ± 5·6 years, 11 male, 16 female) was divided into three matched groups: (1) controls (n = 10), (2) low intensity (70% PWC_ft) training group (n = 10) and (3) high intensity (85% PWC_ft) training group (n = 7). The subjects were tested for PWC_ft before and after 10 weeks of exercise training on cycle ergometers (30min/day, 3 days/week). Controls did not exercise but met once a week for a health lecture. No significant pre-test to post-test change was noted in the mean PWC_ft of the control group (78·8-78·5 W); low intensity training resulted in 29·8% improvement in PWC_ft (81·0 to 105·0 W); and the high intensity group realized an improvement of 38·4% (83·6-115·7 W). One-way ANOVA -indicated that the gains made by each of the groups were significantly different (p < 0·01). Post hoc analysis revealed that the gains made by each exercise training group were significantly greater than controls (p <0·05) with no significant difference between high and low intensity groups. Reproducibility of the PWC_ft was excellent (R = 0·976). Since RPE averaged 14·2 at PWC_ft and 64% of subjects provided useful data, this test appears to be useful for evaluating the fitness of the elderly.