The study involved 34 participants ages 65 through late 70s as well as 27 younger participants. Results showed that with a regular exercise regimen that included 90 minutes of exercise 3 times per week, seniors were able to greatly increase what fitness professionals refer to as “exercise efficiency”, a measure of how well the body uses oxygen, which directly affects stamina.
According to an article in the Charleston Post and Courier, researchers at the University of Washington and at Seattle’s Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center were surprised at the results. "What was new and unexpected in our study was the disproportionately greater response to training in the elderly subjects," the VA and University of Washington researchers reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
As part of the study, all the subjects stretched, bicycled and ran or walked for a total of 90 minutes three times a week. Researchers observed that after 3 to 6 months of supervised training, the older subjects used oxygen more efficiently and regained normal breathing more quickly after their assigned exercises. In fact, noted the researchers, the older participants were better than the younger subjects had been before the training.
"Our study confirms that aging does not preclude a response to training, as the elderly subjects were able to improve in all the same exercise parameters as their younger counterparts," the scientists reported.
The study also indicates that even low levels of exercise at regular intervals can prove helpful in increasing stamina for seniors. Walking is one of the easiest forms of exercise for seniors to accomplish and the study suggests that walkers wear a pedometer to measure their steps, with a goal of eventually accomplishing about 10,000 steps per day.
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