The Effect of Eight Weeks of Resistance Training on Some of the Angiogenesis Indices in Elderly Men

Aging is a process in which the physiological capacity of the body decreases continuously after the age of 30. One of these major changes in body mass (sarcopenia) is caused by a reduction in blood flow due to angiogenesis disorder. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of eight weeks of resistance training on some angiogenesis indices in elderly men.

The sample of this study was 30 elderly men (average age 61.65 and average weight 68 kg) who were randomly divided into control (15) and experimental (15) groups. The experimental group received 8 weeks of aerobic exercise, which included 55-50% MHR in the 1st week, with a high 80%-75% MHR in the eighth week. Studies were performed 48 hours before vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), and nitric oxide (NO) and after the last session of the 5-cc protocol of the blood from the elderly’s arms. To analyze the findings, independent and dependent T test was used for inter-group and intra-group evaluations. Statistical tests were performed using SPSS 16 software at a significance level of α=0.05.

Eight weeks of aerobic training significantly increased the levels of VEGF (P=0.000), NO (P=0.000), and FGF (P=0.000) in elderly men. There were no significant changes in the control group.

The results of this study showed that eight weeks of aerobic training increased significantly in the angiogenesis levels of the elderly. Therefore, aerobic exercise can be used as an appropriate method for increasing angiogenesis in the elderly.