Leg Press and Chest Press Power Normative Values by Half Decade in Older Women.

Neuromuscular power is essential for the performance of most activities of daily living and the maintenance of functional independence throughout the aging process. Power declines rapidly in later life; however, this decline may be reduced or delayed with early detection and intervention. Therefore, this study provides leg press and chest press power normative values for older women. Women's power data for this analysis included 229 participants, 60--90 years of age. Power testing was conducted on Keiser A420 pneumatic leg press and chest press machines following a standardized protocol. Data were stratified into half-decade age groups and analyzed using a 1-way ANOVA. Descriptive statistics and quartile rankings are reported, and significant differences between age groups are outlined. There were significant differences in absolute and relative leg press peak power between the age groups (p, 0.05). However, there were no significant differences in absolute or relative chest press peak power between the age groups. This research established normative values and quartile rankings for leg press and chest press power in older women 60--90 years of age, allowing comparative evaluations with patients and subjects by clinicians and researchers, respectively. These values should improve exercise interventions designed to improve power production by providing assessments of subjects' current status and allowing comprehensive monitoring of progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]