The effects of a combined bodyweight-based and elastic bands resistance training, with or without protein supplementation, on muscle mass, signaling and heat shock response in healthy older people

This investigation sought to determine the effects of twelve weeks of resistance exercise training in addition to protein supplementation on body composition, markers of muscle atrophy/hypertrophy and heat shock response (HSR) in healthy older adults. Thirty-eight healthy sedentary participants (M/F, 18/20; age, 63.5 +/- 4.4 y) were randomly assigned to four groups: I) PLACEBO: no training, receiving placebo sachets; II) NUTRITION: no training, receiving protein supplementation sachets; III) EXERCISE PLACEBO: training, placebo sachets and IV) EXERCISE NUTRITION: training, receiving protein sachets. The resistance training (using bodyweight and elastic bands) consisted of 45 min supervised training sessions, 3 x /week. Participants from both exercise groups increased their total lean body mass (from 48.4 +/- 8.7 to 49.2 +/- 8.7 kg and from 44.9 +/- 7.8 to 45.9 +/- 8.1 kg, average of gain similar to 0.8 and 1 kg, placebo and nutrition respectively) and improved results in physical tests. Exercise nutrition group also reduced their body fat (from 34.8 +/- 7.3 to 32.9 +/- 7.4%), increased the expression of proteins/gene involved on the HSR, S6 and eEF2, while FOXO3 and Murf1 were reduced. Expression of MHC-I was reduced in both exercise groups while MHC-IIa increased, with no effect of protein supplementation alone. Body-weight and elastic bands based resistance exercise prompted, in healthy older people, improvements in body composition and muscle function. When protein supplementation was added to the people engaged in resistance training, improvements in fat mass and changes in skeletal muscle signaling were detected, favoring protein synthesis pathways and the protective heat shock response.