Enhancing Strength Gains With the Power of the Mind

The Effect of Combining Maximal Mental Effort With Elastic Band Training on Strength and Neuromuscular Adaptations in Older Females

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine the effect of maximal mental effort combined with elastic band training on strength and neuromuscular function in healthy, older females. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Does elastic band training in combination with maximal mental effort increase strength more than elastic band training alone?
• Does elastic band training in combination with maximal mental effort improve neuromuscular function more than elastic band training alone?

Participants will be randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups:

• Elastic band training
• Elastic band training with maximal mental effort
• Control

Researchers will compare groups to determine differences in changes in strength, neuromuscular function, and body composition.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Healthy
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Elastic Band Training; Behavioral: Elastic Band Training with Maximal Mental Effort

Detailed Description

Participants in both training groups will perform 6 weeks of moderate intensity, whole-body elastic band training. Participants in the control group will participate in all testing procedures but not perform any training. Participants from both groups will be instructed to maintain their normal physical activity levels and dietary habits.

All training sessions will be home-based and virtually supervised by research personnel. Participants will complete 2 training sessions in the first week and 3 training sessions per week for the remaining 5 weeks. Each training session will last about 45-60 minutes and consist of 7 exercises performed in the same order by each participant, including both multi-joint (chair squat, chest press, leg press, back row) and single-joint (knee extension, knee flexion, elbow flexion) exercises. Participants will perform 12 repetitions for each exercise for the first 3 weeks, then volume will be increased by progressing to 4 sets for the remaining 3 weeks. There will be a 60-second rest interval between sets and a similar tempo will be used between groups.

Both training groups will perform the same training protocol, but participants in the maximal mental effort group will mentally urge their muscles to contract maximally during each repetition. That is, despite using a moderate intensity, participants will imagine the feeling of maximal muscle contraction of the primary muscles during each repetition.

Several measures of strength, neuromuscular function, physical function, and body composition will be measured before and after the training or control period.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 45
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Garrett Hester, Ph.D.; Phone Number: 470-578-4267; Email: ghester4@kennesaw.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Georgia
    • Kennesaw, Georgia, United States, 30144
      • Recruiting
      • Kennesaw State University
      • Contact: Garrett M Hester, Ph.D.; Phone Number: 470-578-4267; Email: ghester4@kennesaw.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Between 65-79 years of age
• Female
• Have not engaged in structured exercise for 3 years
• Are not reliant upon a walking aid
• Be able to rise from a chair unassisted
• BMI between 25-33 kg/m²
• Have access to the internet and access to a smartphone or computer with a camera at home

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any history of cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, or metabolic diseases
• Musculoskeletal injury within the past 6 months
• Any condition affecting muscle function
• Uncontrolled hypertension
• Score less than 23 on the Mini-mental State Exam
• Upon starting study, missing more than 2 training session

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Elastic Band Training; This group will perform moderate intensity, whole-body elastic band training.	Behavioral: Elastic Band Training; This training intervention will be 6 weeks of moderate-intensity elastic band training, including whole-body and isolated muscle exercises.
Experimental: Elastic Band Training with Maximal Mental Effort; This group will perform moderate intensity, whole-body elastic band training with maximal mental effort during muscle contraction.	Behavioral: Elastic Band Training with Maximal Mental Effort; This training intervention will be 6 weeks of moderate-intensity elastic band training, including whole-body and isolated muscle exercises, where participants will perform maximal mental effort by imagining maximal muscle contraction during each exercise.
No Intervention: Control; This group will not perform any training and maintain their regular level of physical activity.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in bicep curl strength as measured by load lifted in pounds	Maximum dumbbell load lifted successfully throughout the range of motion of a bicep curl	Baseline, Week 7

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in voluntary activation as measured by ratio of superimposed torque to resting twitch torque	Voluntary activation is an estimate of neural drive and is the amplitude of superimposed torque elicited by percutaneous muscle stimulation relative to the resting twitch torque amplitude	Baseline, Week 7
Change in handgrip strength as measured in kilograms of force	Upper-body strength as measured by a handgrip dynamometer	Baseline, Week 7
Change in agonist muscle activation as measured by electromyography amplitude	A measure of the capacity at which the muscle is activitated by the nervous system	Baseline, Week 7
Change from baseline in isokinetic muscle activation at 6 weeks	Electromyography root mean square during isokinetic contraction divided by root mean square during isometric contraction	Baseline, Week 7
Change in antagonist co-activation as measured by electromyography amplitude	A measure of the capacity at which the antagonist muscle is activated by the nervous system	Baseline, Week 7
Change in isometric bicep strength as measured by newton-meters of torque	Isometric strength of a muscle	Baseline, Week 7
Change in isokinetic bicep strength as measured by newton-meters of torque	Dynamic strength of a muscle contracting at a constant velocity	Baseline, Week 7
Change in rate of torque development as measured by newton-meters per second	A measure of the capacity to increase muscle torque rapidly as determined by the slope of the torque-time curve	Baseline, Week 7
Change in walking speed as measured by time taken to walk 6 meters	Measure of lower-body physical function	Baseline, Week 7
Change in chair rise performance as measured by number of chair rises performed in 30 seconds	Measure of lower-body physical function	Baseline, Week 7
Change in chair rise power by watts by a linear transducer attached to hip during chair rise test	Product of load and velocity as determined on a linear transducer	Baseline, Week 7
Change in muscle composition as measured by ultrasound-derived grey-scale analysis	Echo-intensity value derived from grey-scale analysis is indicative of amount of non-contractile tissue in muscle	Baseline, Week 7
Change in skeletal muscle size as measured by ultrasound-derived cross-sectional	Size of a muscle	Baseline, Week 7
Change in fat mass as measured by kilograms	Amount of fat tissue a person possesses estimated by bioelectrical impedance analysis	Baseline, Week 7
Change in fat-free mass as measured by kilograms	Amount of non-fat tissue a person possesses estimated by bioelectrical impedance analysis	Baseline, Week 7
Change in body fat percentage as measured by fat tissue relative to fat-free tissue	Relative amount of body fat a person possesses estimated by bioelectrical impedance analysis	Baseline, Week 7
Change in hemoglobin A1c level as measured by blood drop analysis	Blood drop analysis, obtained from fingerstick, measure of amount of blood sugar bound to hemoglobin	Baseline, Week 7
Change in resting heart rate as measured by beats/min using oscillatory cuff	Measure of cardiovascular fitness	Baseline, Week 7
Change in resting blood pressure in millimeters of mercury using oscillatory cuff	Measure of cardiovascular fitness	Baseline, Week 7
Change in general feeling about knee extension and bicep curl exercise	From a -5 to +5 on the Affective Feeling Scale	Each exercise session of the 6-week intervention
Change in grip width on elastic band as measured by distance of hand placements on band	Indication of progression in training intensity	Baseline, 3 weeks, 5 weeks

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in exercising heart rate	A descriptor of the exercise physiological intensity for both training protocols	Each exercise session of the 6-week intervention
Change in calorie consumption as measured by kilocalories determined by dietary recall	Amount of calories consumed	Baseline, Week 7
Change in protein consumption as measured by kilocalories determined by dietary recall	Amount of protein consumed	Baseline, Week 7
Change in physical activity as measured by daily step count via Garmin Venu SQ smartwatch	Measure of physical activity level	Baseline, Week 7

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Kennesaw State University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Garrett Hester, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 1, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): November 1, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 19, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 19, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): October 25, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): December 11, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 5, 2023
• Last Verified: December 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 2024-Harper

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No