Self-Efficacy and Resistance Training for Older Adults
By Richard Shank
Researchers in Australia recently examined the links between exercise and psychological well-being in a group of older adults. This study involved six women and four men, ages 65 to 72, who participated in a 12-week program of moderate- to high-intensity resistance training.
A large body of research indicates that regular exercise routines enhance fitness, strength, flexibility, and balance; mood and quality-of-life; opportunities for social interaction; self-confidence; and cognitive functioning; while decreasing levels of stress and anxiety. Resistance training for older adults targets muscular strength with hopes of increasing an individual's ability to perform activities of daily living.
Most previous research focused on the physical benefits of resistance training, alhtough there was little attempt to assess the qualitative sense of self-efficacy and psychological well-being experienced by exercise class participants.
Self-efficacy is a person's belief in their own ability to perform a certain task. Physical exercise routines offer older adults the opportunity to develop a feeling of physical self-efficacy that would otherwise decline in the absence of the exercise routine. It is a critical factor in whether older adults choose to engage in new exercise routines and/or change their lives to become more active. Despite this, engaging in exercise routines allow even sedentary older adults the chance to experience repeated physical successes that can ultimately transform both their physical abilities and mental outlook.
The findings of this study suggest that older adults experience a heightened sense of self-efficacy and psychological well-being as a result of participating in regular exercise routines.
Several respondents viewed their resistance training as a means of "taking control" of their physical abilities and developing them in ways they previously did not see possible. Those who did not express this particular sentiment still exhibited an elevated sense of accomplishment; one respondent even suggested that it was "just the physical activity itself that brings the good feeling when I leave the gym."
Older adults often are unaware of the benefits of resistance training and even believe themselves to be incapable of developing challenging physical exercise routines. However, this study confirms that the biggest barrier to physical fitness for many older adults is purely psychological.
Source: Dionigi, R. 2007. Resistance training and older adults: beliefs about psychological benefits and the Importance of Self-Efficacy and Social Interaction. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology 29:723-746.
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