Active Retirement: Effects of the Application of a Training Program

Active Retirement: Effects of the Application of a Training Program on the Stimulation of the Sensory Motor System

The study will include 160 participants. They will be randomized into 2 groups, experimental and control. The intervention will take place over 24 weeks. Parameters of body composition, quality of life, physical activity, strength, flexibility, postural control, gait, agility and execution speed will be determined.

The intervention study will have a quasi-experimental, longitudinal and controlled design. The sample will participate in a supervised training program lasting 24 weeks, followed by a 1-year follow-up period. The sample will be divided into two groups, intervention group and control group.

The variables under study are physical activity in the last week; quality of life; lower and upper limb strength; flexibility of the lower and upper limbs; postural control; march; agility and execution speed. These variables will be evaluated in 4 moments: before the beginning of the training program; after 24 weeks of the program; after 6 months from the end of the program; and after 1 year.

A convenience sample will be recruited in the community of Almada, in partnership with the Municipality of Almada (CMA). The sample will be recruited according to the following inclusion criteria: residents in the municipality of Almada, individuals between 55 and 80 years of age, healthy people, who do not have prostheses (with the exception of dental prostheses), who have not undergone operations for over 6 months, and who can walk independently for up to 10 minutes. Participants will not be eligible if they are younger than 55 years of age or older than 80 years of age, have a musculoskeletal or neurological diagnosis and report a clinical cardiovascular diagnosis. Gender is not an exclusion criterion.

The training program will be carried out over a period of 24 weeks, with exercise sessions twice a week, lasting approximately 45 minutes each. The sessions were divided into three phases: initial phase; fundamental phase; and return to calm. Throughout the intervention, the sensorimotor training program will have a progressive increase in load, the exercises will be divided into 3 levels of intensity: easy, intermediate and advanced.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged between 55 years and 80 years;
• Agree to participate in the study;
• Healthy people;
• People without prostheses (with the exception of dental prostheses);
• People who have not been operated on for less than 6 months.

Exclusion Criteria:

• People with musculoskeletal diagnosis;
• People with problems in locomotion;
• Psychiatric diseases and neurological disorders;
• People with a clinical cardiovascular diagnosis.