Age-related changes in anaerobic power in the former highly trained oarsmen and kayakers

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the age-related changes in anaerobic power in the former highly trained oarsmen and kayakers, i.e. the representatives of sports requiring high endurance capacity and strength. Sixty-six former athletes, aged 30-67 years participated in this study. The subjects were assessed for peak anaerobic power in arms (Pan arms) and legs (Pan legs) during 10 s- maximal cycle ergometer exercise tests and for peak aerobic power (PVO2max) during incremental exercise. Body mass, lean body mass and body fat content were measured as well. The peak anaerobic power decline in the former highly trained athletes examined in the present study equalled to 0.6-0.7% per year. The recreational physical activity, based primarily on the endurance exercises, did not affect the peak anaerobic power whereas the peak aerobic power and body fat content strongly depended on the age and physical activity. The peak anaerobic power in the upper and lower extremities exhibited similar reduction with age of the subjects. Furthermore, in the less active group the ratio of Pan legs to PVO2max did not change with age whereas in physically active subjects this index increased. It was concluded that in the sample of former highly trained oarsmen and kayakers the age-related decline in the peak anaerobic power approximated that reported by other authors for untrained or endurance trained subjects, the peak anaerobic power in the arms was almost the same as that in the legs and that in the less active group the ratio of the peak anaerobic power to the peak aerobic power was independent of age and strongly tended to increase in the physically active subjects