Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Jan;43(1):59-68.
doi: 10.1177/07334648231193562. Epub 2023 Sep 12.

"It Makes You Feel Alive and Younger…but It's Stressful …My Back and Legs Ache": A Focus Group Study Encouraging Resistance Training Around Retirement

Rachael Frost  1 , Anna Lowe  2 , Snehal M Pinto Pereira  3
Affiliations

"It Makes You Feel Alive and Younger…but It's Stressful …My Back and Legs Ache": A Focus Group Study Encouraging Resistance Training Around Retirement

Rachael Frost et al. J Appl Gerontol. 2024 Jan.

Abstract

Muscle weakness is a key component of age-related conditions such as sarcopenia and frailty. Resistance training is highly effective at preventing and treating muscle weakness; however, few adults meet recommended levels. Retirement may be a key life-stage to promote resistance training. We carried out a virtual focus group study to explore motivators and barriers to resistance training around the time of retirement, with the aim of determining strategies and messages to increase its uptake. The five focus groups (n = 30) were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. We found that resistance training was positively viewed when associated with immediate and long-term health and wellbeing benefits and had a social dimension; but there was a lack of understanding as to what constitutes resistance training, the required intensity level for effects; the role of pain; and the consequences of muscle weakness.

Keywords: exercise; qualitative; resistance training; retirement; sarcopenia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

References

    1. Barnett I., Guell C., Ogilvie D. (2012). The experience of physical activity and the transition to retirement: A systematic review and integrative synthesis of qualitative and quantitative evidence. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 9(1), 97. 10.1186/1479-5868-9-97 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bennie J. A., De Cocker K., Smith J. J., Wiesner G. H. (2020). The epidemiology of muscle-strengthening exercise in europe: A 28-country comparison including 280,605 adults. PLoS One, 15(11), Article e0242220. 10.1371/journal.pone.0242220 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Braun V., Clarke V. (2022). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. Sage Publications.
    1. BritainThinks (2020). Chartered society of physiotherapy strength messaging insight. BritainThinks.
    1. Brown R. T., Covinsky K. E. (2020). Moving prevention of functional impairment upstream: Is middle age an ideal time for intervention? Women’s Midlife Health, 6(1), 4. 10.1186/s40695-020-00054-z - DOI - PMC - PubMed