Velocity-Based Resistance Training Effects on Inflammation in Older Adults

Dose-Response Effects of Velocity-Based Resistance Training on Anti-Inflammatory Responses in Older Adults

This study aims to investigate the effects of resistance training (RT) with different training volumes on immune modulation and anti-inflammatory responses in older adults. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three RT volume groups (low, medium, or high) or a non-exercise control group. Participants in the training groups will complete a 4-week RT program, followed by a 4-week detraining phase. The findings are expected to provide evidence for volume-specific RT prescriptions to support healthy aging.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Inflammatory Response; Aging
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Resistance exercise

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Shun-Hsi Tsai, Ph.D.; Phone Number: 68523 +88686741111; Email: shunhsi@mail.ntpu.edu.tw

Study Locations

• Taiwan
  • Taipei, Taiwan, 116
    • Recruiting
    • National Taiwan Normal University
    • Contact: Hung-Wen Liu, Ph.D.; Phone Number: +88677496863; Email: hwliu@ntnu.edu.tw
    • Contact: Kuan-Tsen Yeh, M.S.; Phone Number: +886932815383; Email: mickyyehyeh@gmail.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged 60-75 years or older
• No regular resistance training habit (defined as ≥2 sessions per week) in the past year
• No musculoskeletal injuries within the past six months

Exclusion Criteria:

• Obesity (BMI > 30 kg/m²), diabetes, hypertension, cancer, heart, kidney, or liver disease, or any other condition that may influence study outcomes.
• Regular use of anti-inflammatory medications (e.g., NSAIDs).
• Smoking or alcohol abuse
• Inability to safely perform the prescribed resistance exercise movements
• Unable to fully comprehend the study information and instructions.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: low training volume resistance exercise; Participants assigned to the low-volume resistance training group will perform one set per exercise at a load corresponding to 80% of 1RM. Each set will be terminated when movement velocity decreases by 30% from the first repetition. Rest intervals of 2-3 minutes will be provided between exercises.	Other: Resistance exercise; The RT program will consist of 12 sessions over a 4-week period, with participants training three times per week and at least one rest day between sessions. All sessions will be supervised by research personnel to ensure proper technique and safety. Exercises will be performed using resistance machines and will include chest press, shoulder press, seated row, lat pulldown, and leg press.
Experimental: medium training volume resistance exercise; Participants assigned to the medium-volume resistance training group will perform three sets per exercise at 80% of 1RM. Each set will be terminated when movement velocity decreases by 30% relative to the first repetition. Rest intervals of 90 seconds will be provided between sets, and 2-3 minutes between exercises.	Other: Resistance exercise; The RT program will consist of 12 sessions over a 4-week period, with participants training three times per week and at least one rest day between sessions. All sessions will be supervised by research personnel to ensure proper technique and safety. Exercises will be performed using resistance machines and will include chest press, shoulder press, seated row, lat pulldown, and leg press.
Experimental: high training volume resistance exercise; Participants assigned to the high-volume resistance training group will perform five sets per exercise at 80% of 1RM. Each set will be terminated when movement velocity decreases by 30% relative to the first repetition. Rest intervals of 90 seconds will be provided between sets, and 2-3 minutes between exercises.	Other: Resistance exercise; The RT program will consist of 12 sessions over a 4-week period, with participants training three times per week and at least one rest day between sessions. All sessions will be supervised by research personnel to ensure proper technique and safety. Exercises will be performed using resistance machines and will include chest press, shoulder press, seated row, lat pulldown, and leg press.
No Intervention: sedentary control; Participants in control trial stayed sedentary during the period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Changes in IL-6 concentration	Plasma IL-6 concentrations will be measured and reported in pg/mL.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Changes in soluble IL-6 receptor concentration	Soluble IL-6 receptor concentrations will be measured and reported in ng/mL.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Changes in soluble gp130 concentration	Soluble gp130 concentrations will be measured and reported in ng/mL.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Changes in IL-10 concentration	IL-10 concentrations will be measured and reported in pg/mL.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Changes in IL-1RA concentration	IL-1RA concentrations will be measured and reported in pg/mL.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Changes in TNF-α concentration	TNF-α concentrations will be measured and reported in pg/mL.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Borgs Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE)	Borgs RPE is a method of estimating exertion rating, based on a 1 to 10 rating scale (1 being the no exertion at all, 10 being maximal exertion).	1-hour during each exercise intervention
Handgrip strength	Maximal handgrip strength will be assessed using a digital hand dynamometer and reported in kilograms.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Knee extension strength	Maximal voluntary isometric and isokinetic concentric knee extension strength of the dominant leg will be assessed using an isokinetic dynamometer and reported in Newton-meters.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
30-second chair-stand test	Lower-body functional capacity will be assessed by the number of repetitions completed during a 30-second chair-stand test.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Single-leg balance test	Balance performance will be assessed as the duration of single-leg stance and reported in seconds.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Timed up and go test	Functional mobility will be assessed using the Timed Up and Go test, with performance quantified as the time (seconds) required to stand up from a seated position, walk 3 meters, turn, walk back, and sit down.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Changes in SHIP1 protein expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs)	Intracellular SHIP1 protein expression in PBMCs will be measured and reported in arbitrary units.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Changes in gp130 (CD130) protein expression in PBMCs	Intracellular gp130 (CD130) protein expression in PBMCs will be measured and reported in arbitrary units.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Changes in STAT3 protein expression in PBMCs	Intracellular STAT3 protein expression in PBMCs will be measured and reported in arbitrary units.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Changes in phosphorylated STAT3 protein expression in PBMCs	Intracellular phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3) protein expression in PBMCs will be measured and reported in arbitrary units.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Changes in IL-6 receptor alpha (CD126) protein expression in PBMCs	Intracellular IL-6 receptor alpha (CD126) protein expression in PBMCs will be measured and reported in arbitrary units.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Changes in Beta-2 adrenergic receptor (β2-AR) protein expression in PBMCs	Intracellular β2-adrenergic receptor (β2-AR) protein expression in PBMCs will be measured and reported in arbitrary units.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Changes in SOCS3 protein expression in PBMCs	Intracellular SOCS3 protein expression in PBMCs will be measured and reported in arbitrary units.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Changes in white blood cell count	Total white blood cell count will be measured and reported in cells/μL.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Changes in lymphocyte count	Lymphocyte count will be measured and reported in cells/μL.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Changes in neutrophil count	Neutrophil count will be measured and reported in cells/μL.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Changes in monocyte count	Monocyte count will be measured and reported in cells/μL.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Body fat percentage	Body fat percentage will be measured using a body composition analyzer and reported as a percentage.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining
Lean body mass	Total lean body mass will be measured using a body composition analyzer and reported in kilograms.	Baseline, post-intervention (4 weeks), and at 2 and 4 weeks during detraining

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Taipei University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Shun-Hsi Tsai, Ph.D., National Taipei University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 20, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2029
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 15, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 28, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): May 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 8, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 4, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena; Therapeutics; Physical Therapy Modalities; Patient Care; Exercise Therapy; Rehabilitation; Aftercare; Continuity of Patient Care; Physical Conditioning, Human; Exercise; Resistance Training
• Other Study ID Numbers: ECKIRB1140803

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