Effects of twenty-eight months of detraining imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on the functional fitness of older women experienced in concurrent and functional training

Purpose: To assess the impacts of 28 months of detraining imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on the functional fitness of older women practicing functional or concurrent training.Material and Methods: A clinical trial was conducted with 16 weeks of intervention and 28 months of detraining imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ninety-five participants were allocated to functional training (FT -32), concurrent training (CT -31), or the control group (CG -32). All the dependent variables were measured pre -training, post-training, and after the detraining period. The functional fitness was assessed by the put on and take off a t-shirt (PTS -upper limbs), timed up and go (TUG -dynamic balance), five times sit-to-stand (FTSST -lower-limb muscle power), gallon-jug shelf-transfer (GJST -global function), and 10 m walk (W10 m -walking ability) tests. Results: Sixty-three women remained after the detraining period, twenty-four in the FT (66.0 +/- 3.8 years), twenty in the CT (65.0 +/- 4.3 years), and nineteen in the CG (69.6 +/- 5.9 years). Comparing the detraining vs. the pre -intervention, the FT and CT showed a smaller reduction than CG for the PTS (fiFT =-2.296; fiCT =-1.914), timed up and go (fiFT =-0.705; fiCT =-0.600), five times sit-to-stand (fiFT =-1.970; fiCT =-2.970), gallon-jug shelf -transfer (fiFT =-1.512; fiCT =-1.003), without differences in the 10 m walk. Also, the concurrent training showed a smaller reduction than the functional training in the FTSST (fi = 1.000).Conclusion: Even after a long detraining period imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, FT and CT practices were effective strategies for maintaining the functional fitness of older women.