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The Research Group on Prevention and Health in Exercise and Sport (PHES) of the University of Valencia, led by Juan Carlos Colado, professor in the Department of Physical Education and Sports, has demonstrated that sixteen weeks of strength training with elastic bands “significantly” improve bone health, muscle strength and balance in older adults, according to the expert. By contrast, individuals who remained inactive during the same period showed deterioration in all the markers analysed.
These findings derive from a clinical trial involving 61 older adults, with a mean age of 70, published in the prestigious Healthcare journal, indexed in Public Health and Medicine. “The work of the PHES group shows that deterioration is not inevitable: science confirms that it can be reversed through well-designed training. Elastic bands are consolidating their role as an accessible and effective tool for promoting active ageing, making it easier for any older person to exercise at home, in senior centres or in community programmes, without the need for expensive equipment or machines”, explains Juan Carlos Colado.
The study, designed and conducted by PHES, compares for the first time three distinct forms of strength training with elastic-bands: a modality based on fast movements with moderate-to-high resistance; a second focused on slow, controlled descent with resistance levels exceeding the participant’s maximal capacity; and a third centred on developing maximal strength with high resistances mobilised at moderate speed. All modalities, performed three days per week in sixty-minute sessions, proved safe, effective and accessible for the elderly population.
Moreover, the detailed analysis of systemic biomarkers reinforces that the type of training matters, with each modality eliciting specific physiological responses, which is highly relevant for personalising interventions. High-speed training not only strongly stimulated neural plasticity and functional power, as reflected by an increase in BDNF (a key biomarker of nervous system health), but also enhanced bone metabolism through improvements in primary indicators of remodelling.
Accentuated eccentric training (in which the lowering or braking phase is executed with greater resistance than in the lifting phase) yielded the greatest osteometabolic improvements, a more efficient antioxidant response and lower inflammatory activity. Finally, the maximal-strength modality produced the highest increases in muscle strength, accompanied by a consistent reduction in systemic inflammation.
These findings demonstrate that there is no single “best” training method. Rather, individuals can benefit differently depending on their health status and functional priorities. When the aim is to improve balance, reaction speed or prevent falls, high-velocity training is the preferred option. If the priority is to protect bones, reduce biological stress or if there is low tolerance to exertion, accentuated eccentric training is most suitable. And to regain strength and autonomy for demanding activities of daily living, maximal-strength training is the optimal strategy. The research thus underscores the need for individualised, evidence-based exercise prescriptions to optimise musculoskeletal and systemic health during ageing.
“We have verified that the body responds to any style of strength training when the dose is appropriate. It is enough to move and progress safely: that alone transforms the health of our elderly”, states Juan Carlos Colado, principal investigator of the study, which also involves researchers from the universities of Coimbra, Extremadura and CEU San Pablo.
Article reference: Saez-Berlanga, A., Gene-Morales, J., Teixeira, A. M., Jiménez-Castuera, R., Gené-Sampedro, A., Juesas, A., Gargallo, P., Caballero, O., Fernandez-Garrido, J., Alix-Fages, C., Jiménez-Martínez, P., & Colado, J. C. (2025). High-Velocity, Accentuated Eccentric, or Maximal Elastic Band Resistance Training? Effects of Resistance Training Modalities on Bone Health, Isokinetic Strength, and Systemic Biomarkers in Sedentary Older Adults: A Comparative Study. Healthcare, 13(23), 3129. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13233129
