Resistance and aerobic training in older men: effects onV˙o 2 peak and the capillary supply to skeletal muscle

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Abstract
Hepple, R. T., S. L. M. Mackinnon, J. M. Goodman, S. G. Thomas, and M. J. Plyley. Resistance and aerobic training in older men: effects onV˙o 2 peak and the capillary supply to skeletal muscle. J. Appl. Physiol. 82(4): 1305–1310, 1997.—Both aerobic training (AT) and resistance training (RT) may increase aerobic power (V˙o 2 peak) in the older population; however, the role of changes in the capillary supply in this response has not been evaluated. Twenty healthy men (age 65–74 yr) engaged in either 9 wk of lower body RT followed by 9 wk of AT on a cycle ergometer (RT→AT group) or 18 wk of AT on a cycle ergometer (AT→AT group). RT was performed three times per week and consisted of three sets of four exercises at 6–12 repetitions maximum. AT was performed three times per week for 30 min at 60–70% heart rate reserve.V˙o 2 peak was increased after both RT and AT (P < 0.05). Biopsies (vastus lateralis) revealed that the number of capillaries per fiber perimeter length was increased after both AT and RT (P < 0.05), paralleling the changes in V˙o 2 peak, whereas capillary density was increased only after AT (P < 0.01). These results, and the finding of a significant correlation between the change in capillary supply and V˙o 2 peak(r = 0.52), suggest the possibility that similar mechanisms may be involved in the increase ofV˙o 2 peak after high-intensity RT and AT in the older population.