High-Frequency, Moderate-Intensity Training in Sedentary Middle-aged Women

Abstract

In brief: The effects of a five-day-a-week, moderate-intensity aerobic training program were studied in previously sedentary middle-aged women. The subjects trained for ten weeks, and the periods of continuous exercise within each training session were lengthened gradually to allow them to adapt physiologically. Afterward the subjects showed a 20% improvement in V o₂ max but no change in body weight or compsition. None of the women suffered an orthopedic injury. The study suggests that this type of program is a safe and effective exercise prescription for sedentary middle-aged women.