Combined endurance and resistance training during geriatric day care improve exercise capacity, balance and strength

Summary Geriatric patients reduce physical activities also because of functional limitations. As a consequence, frailty – a leading cause of falls – increases. We hypothesized that integration of age-adjusted exercise training into geriatric day care might help by improving muscle strength and balance. In this trial (intervention group, n =20; control group, n =18; mean age: 76.6±7.1 years), the intervention group performed endurance, resistance and balance training three times per week for eight weeks. Exercise training improved physical work capacity during cycle ergometry by 23.6±42.4% ( p p -values p