The aim was to explore the effects of a 32-week resistance training (RT) intervention with elastic bands with or without microfiltered seawater (SW) supplementation on isokinetic strength, bone mineral density (BMD), body composition, and subjective quality of life in postmenopausal women. Ninety-three untrained women (age: 70.00 ± 6.26 years; body mass index: 22.05 ± 3.20 kg/m2; body fat: 37.77 ± 6.38%; 6.66 ± 1.01 s up-and-go test) voluntarily participated in this randomized, double-blinded, controlled trial. Participants were allocated into four groups (RT+SW, RT+PLA, CON+SW, and CON+PLA). The RT intervention (twice weekly) consisted of different exercises for the whole body performed at submaximal intensities with elastic bands. Both control groups were not involved in any exercise program. A two-way mixed analysis of variance of repeated measures revealed significant improvements in almost all the variables in both intervention groups (p < 0.05). However, significant differences with controls were encountered in isokinetic strength, body fat percentage, and bodily pain. Although the group with SW supplementation obtained greater effect sizes, non-significant differences between both RT groups were observed. In conclusion, the determinant factor of the adaptations seems to be RT rather than SW.
Keywords: Short Form Health Survey (SF-36); body composition; body fat; bone mineral density; elastic bands; muscle strength; musculoskeletal; older adults; postmenopausal; rate of perceived exertion; variable resistance training.