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To assess the influences of age and sex on regional changes in 1 repetition maximum (1RM) strength, 10 young men (20-30 years), 8 young women (20-30 years), 11 older men (65-75 years), and 10 older women (65-75 years) were studied before and after a 24-week whole-body strength training program. Changes in 1RM strength were analyzed for each individual exercise, as well as by calculating a total body score (TBS), an upper body score (UBS), and a lower body score (LBS). The effect of age and sex on changes in 1RM strength was analyzed using a repeated measures analysis of variance. When changes in strength for individual exercises were analyzed, the chest press, lat pulldown, shoulder press, and triceps pushdown were affected by both age (p > 0.05) and sex (p > 0.05), while the biceps curls were only influenced by age (p > 0.05). For the lower body, the leg press changes in 1RM strength were influenced by age (p > 0.0001), while leg extension was influenced by sex (p > 0.05). Total body score, UBS, and LBS showed significant increases with 24 weeks of ST (p > 0.001, all). Changes in TBS and UBS were affected by age (p > 0.001, both) and sex (p > 0.05 and p > 0.001, respectively). Younger subjects showed a greater increase in strength than older subjects, and men showed a greater increase in strength compared with women. Changes in LBS were affected by age (p > 0.001), with younger subjects showing a greater increase in strength compared with the older subjects, but not by sex (p = 0.464). These data indicate that regional increases in strength are differentially affected by age and sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: To examine the possible influences of age and gender on muscle volume responses to strength training (ST). DESIGN: Prospective intervention study. SETTING: University of Maryland Exercise Science and Wellness Research Laboratories. PARTICIPANTS: Eight young men (age 20–30 years), six young women (age 20–30 years), nine older men (age 65–75 years), and ten older women (age 65–75 years). INTERVENTION: A 6-month whole-body ST program that exercised all major muscle groups of the upper and lower body 3 days/week. MEASUREMENTS: Thigh and quadriceps muscle volumes and mid-thigh muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) were assessed by magnetic resonance imaging before and after the ST program. RESULTS: Thigh and quadriceps muscle volume increased significantly in all age and gender groups as a result of ST (P < .001), with no significant differences between the groups. Modest correlations were observed between both the change in quadriceps versus the change in total thigh muscle volume (r = 0.65; P < .001) and the change in thigh muscle volume versus the change in mid-thigh CSA (r = 0.76, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that neither age nor gender affects muscle volume response to whole-body ST. Muscle volume, rather than muscle CSA, is recommended for studying muscle mass responses to ST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]