Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine if induced emotions could improve strength in older people. The importance is that, this could have an impact on life quality. A total of 42 volunteers (24 female and 18 male) with a mean age of 62.18 years (SD = 4.31)from Madrid participated in this study. Participants joined an eight-week program of 45 minutes of weight lifting in machines three times per week. They were split into two groups, the first one having induced emotions prior to training for 15 minutes, and the second one being the control group. Strength was measured by the maximum number of repetitions that participants managed to do before and at the end of the 8 weeks of the training program, there was an improvement in both groups, but the increase was significantly larger in the induced emotions group (p < 0.05) as compared with the other. Induced emotions had positive effects to increase muscle strength in all muscle groups. In conclusion, emotions are not only important but also effective in order to increase strength and possibly life quality in older people.

Key words: Elderly person, diseases, sarcopenia, psychology, life quality.