Academic Journal
View in EDS
Linked Full Text

The Effects of Augmented Feedback and Encouragement During High-Velocity Resistance Training on Performance, Fatigue, and Function in Older Adults.

Bibliographic Details
Title: The Effects of Augmented Feedback and Encouragement During High-Velocity Resistance Training on Performance, Fatigue, and Function in Older Adults.
Authors: Nicholson VP; School of Allied Health, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, Australia., Cowley N; School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, Australia., Weakley J; School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, Australia.; Sports Performance, Recovery, Injury and New Technologies (SPRINT) Research Center, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, Australia ; and.; Carnegie Applied Rugby Research (CARR) Center, Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, United Kingdom.
Source: Journal of strength and conditioning research [J Strength Cond Res] 2026 Jun 01; Vol. 40 (6), pp. e639-e646. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Apr 08.
Publication Type: Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial
Language: English
Journal Info: Publisher: Human Kinetics Pub Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 9415084 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1533-4287 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 10648011 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Strength Cond Res Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Original Publication: Champaign, IL : Human Kinetics Pub., c1993-
MeSH Terms: Resistance Training*/methods , Muscle Fatigue*/physiology , Physical Functional Performance*, Physical Exertion/physiology ; Myalgia/physiopathology ; Muscle Strength/physiology ; Humans ; Female ; Cross-Over Studies ; Aged ; Male ; Motivation ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Middle Aged
Abstract: Abstract: Nicholson, VP, Cowley, N, and Weakley, J. The effects of augmented feedback and encouragement during high-velocity resistance training on performance, fatigue, and function in older adults. J Strength Cond Res 40(6): e639-e646, 2026-This study aimed to assess whether kinematic feedback and verbal encouragement enhance movement velocity, motivation, perceived exertion, and physical performance in older adults within session. Fourteen older adults (9 females) with resistance training experience participated in a randomized cross-over trial. After baseline testing, subjects attended 4 resistance training sessions where they completed 3 sets of 10 repetitions on the leg press and bench press at 60% of their 3-repetition maximum. During each training session, subjects were exposed to one of 4 conditions-control (no feedback), visual kinematic feedback, verbal kinematic feedback, or verbal encouragement. The influence of training condition on mean concentric velocity (MCV), motivation, perceived exertion, functional performance, post 24-hour muscle soreness, and fatigue were assessed using a linear mixed model. For leg press, session MCV was significantly ( p < 0.05) higher for all experimental conditions compared with the control condition with effect sizes ranging from 0.16 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.04-0.27) for verbal encouragement to 0.21 (95% CI 0.09-0.33) for visual and verbal kinematic feedback. For bench press, session MCV was significantly ( p < 0.05) higher for verbal kinematic feedback (ES = 0.20, 95% CI 0.10-0.30) and verbal encouragement (ES = 0.27, 95% CI 0.17-0.37) conditions compared with the control condition. Motivation, perceived exertion, functional performance, muscle soreness, and fatigue were not influenced by the improved movement velocity. These findings demonstrate that kinematic feedback and verbal encouragement can enhance resistance training quality in older adults, without impacting subsequent muscle soreness and function or perceptions of fatigue.
(Copyright © 2026 National Strength and Conditioning Association.)
References: Alcazar J, Losa-Reyna J, Rodriguez-Lopez C, et al. The sit-to-stand muscle power test: An easy, inexpensive and portable procedure to assess muscle power in older people. Exp Gerontol 112: 38–43, 2018.
Argus CK, Gill ND, Keogh JW, Hopkins WG. Acute effects of verbal feedback on upper-body performance in elite athletes. J Strength Cond Res 25: 3282–3287, 2011.
Bandhu D, Mohan MM, Nittala NAP, et al. Theories of motivation: A comprehensive analysis of human behavior drivers. Acta Psychol 244: 104177, 2024.
Bates D, Mächler M, Bolker B, Walker S. Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. J Stat Softw 67: 1–48, 2015.
Bean JF, Kiely DK, Herman S, et al. The relationship between leg power and physical performance in mobility limited older people. J Am Geriatr Soc 50: 461–467, 2002.
Belkhiria C, De Marco G, Driss T. Effects of verbal encouragement on force and electromyographic activations during exercise. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 58: 750–757, 2018.
Binboğa E, Tok S, Catikkas F, Guven S, Dane S. The effects of verbal encouragement and conscientiousness on maximal voluntary contraction of the triceps surae muscle in elite athletes. J Sports Sci 31: 982–988, 2013.
Bohannon RW. Comfortable and maximum walking speed of adults aged 20-79 years: Reference values and determinants. Age Ageing 26: 15–19, 1997.
Burton E, Farrier K, Lewin G, et al. Motivators and barriers for older people participating in resistance training: A systematic review. J Aging Phys Act 25: 311–324, 2017.
Chiviacowsky S, Wulf G. Feedback after good trials enhances learning. Res Q Exerc Sport 78: 40–47, 2007.
Chua L-K, Jimenez-Diaz J, Lewthwaite R, Kim T, Wulf G. Superiority of external attentional focus for motor performance and learning: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Psychol Bull 147: 618–645, 2021.
De Muynck GJ, Vansteenkiste M, Delrue J, et al. The effects of feedback valence and style on need satisfaction, self-talk, and perseverance among tennis players: An experimental study. J Sport Exerc Psychol 39: 67–80, 2017.
Edwards AM, Dutton-Challis L, Cottrell D, Guy JH, Hettinga FJ. Impact of active and passive social facilitation on self-paced endurance and sprint exercise: Encouragement augments performance and motivation to exercise. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med 4: e000368, 2018.
Engel FA, Faude O, Kölling S, Kellmann M, Donath L. Verbal encouragement and between-day reliability during high-intensity functional strength and endurance performance testing. Front Physiol 10: 1–9, 2019.
Foldvari M, Clark M, Laviolette LC, et al. Association of muscle power with functional status in community-dwelling elderly women. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 55: M192–M199, 2000.
Fragala MS, Cadore EL, Dorgo S, et al. Resistance training for older adults: Position statement from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. J Strength Cond Res 33: 2019–2052, 2019.
Gearhart RF Jr, Lagally KM, Riechman SE, Andrews RD, Robertson RJ. Strength tracking using the OMNI resistance exercise scale in older men and women. J Strength Cond Res 23: 1011–1015, 2009.
Geddes MR, Mattfeld AT, Angeles CdL, Keshavan A, Gabrieli JDE. Human aging reduces the neurobehavioral influence of motivation on episodic memory. Neuroimage 171: 296–310, 2018.
Harrison PW, James LP, McGuigan MR, Jenkins DG, Kelly VG. Resistance priming to enhance neuromuscular performance in sport: Evidence, potential mechanisms and directions for future research. Sports Med 49: 1499–1514, 2019.
Hayes EJ, Stevenson E, Sayer AA, Granic A, Hurst C. Recovery from resistance exercise in older adults: A systematic scoping review. Sports Med Open 9: 1–25, 2023.
Hopkins WG, Marshall SW, Batterham AM, Hanin J. Progressive statistics for studies in sports medicine and exercise science. Med Sci Sports Exerc 41: 3–13, 2009.
Imtiaz F, Vaughan-Johnston T, Ji LJ. Motivation and age revisited: The impact of outcome and process orientations on temporal focus in older and younger adults. J Ageing Longevity 4: 140–155, 2024.
Jones SE, Kon SS, Canavan JL, et al. The five-repetition sit-to-stand test as a functional outcome measure in COPD. Thorax 68: 1015–1020, 2013.
Keller M, Lauber B, Gehring D, Leukel C, Taube W. Jump performance and augmented feedback: Immediate benefits and long-term training effects. Hum Mov Sci 36: 177–189, 2014.
Kennis E, Verschueren S, Van Roie E, et al. Longitudinal impact of aging on muscle quality in middle-aged men. Age 36: 1–12, 2014.
Lenth R, Singmann H, Love J, Buerkner P, Herve M. Emmeans: Estimated marginal means, aka least-squares means (R package version 1.5. 1.) [Computer software], 2021.
Leyva A, Balachandran A, Signorile JF. Lower-body torque and power declines across six decades in three hundred fifty-seven men and women: A cross-sectional study with normative values. J Strength Cond Res 30: 141–158, 2016.
Lopez P, Rech A, Petropoulou M, et al. Does high-velocity resistance exercise elicit greater physical function benefits than traditional resistance exercise in older adults? A systematic review and network meta-analysis of 79 trials. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 78: 1471–1482, 2023.
Lüdecke D, Ben-Shachar MS, Patil I, Waggoner P, Makowski D. Performance: An R package for assessment, comparison and testing of statistical models. J Open Source Softw 6: 3139–3148, 2021.
Matthews G, Joyner L, Gilliland K, et al. Validation of a comprehensive stress state questionnaire: Towards a state big three. Personal Psych Eur 7: 335–350, 1999.
Mehdipour A, Malouka S, Beauchamp M, Richardson J, Kuspinar A. Measurement properties of the usual and fast gait speed tests in community-dwelling older adults: A COSMIN-based systematic review. Age Ageing 53: afae055, 2024.
Opitz L, Wagner F, Rogenz J, et al. Still wanting to win: Reward system stability in healthy aging. Front Aging Neurosci 14: 863580, 2022.
Pinto SS, Bezerra EDS, Silva KG, Ramirez-Campillo R, Ben Abderrahman A. Acute effects of velocity-based resistance training on the physical functional performance of older adults. Int J Exerc Sci 15: 399–413, 2022.
Randell AD, Cronin JB, Keogh JW, Gill ND, Pedersen MC. Effect of instantaneous performance feedback during 6 weeks of velocity-based resistance training on sport-specific performance tests. J Strength Cond Res 25: 87–93, 2011.
R Core Team. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing, 2020.
Reid KF, Fielding RA. Skeletal muscle power: A critical determinant of physical functioning in older adults. Exerc Sport Sci Rev 40: 4–12, 2012.
Ryan RM, Deci EL. Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. Am Psychol 55: 68–78, 2000.
Shakudo M, Takegami M, Shibata A, et al. Effect of feedback in promoting adherence to an exercise programme: A randomized controlled trial. J Eval Clin Pract 17: 7–11, 2011.
Simpkins C, Yang F. Muscle power is more important than strength in preventing falls in community-dwelling older adults. J Biomech 134: 111018, 2022.
Trewick N, Neumann DL, Hamilton K. Effect of affective feedback and competitiveness on performance and the psychological experience of exercise within a virtual reality environment. PLoS One 17: e0268460, 2022.
Van Roie E, Bautmans I, Coudyzer W, Boen F, Delecluse C. Low-and high-resistance exercise: Long-term adherence and motivation among older adults. Gerontology 61: 551–560, 2015.
Vanderka M, Bezák A, Longová K, Krčmár M, Walker S. Use of visual feedback during jump-squat training aids improvement in sport-specific tests in athletes. J Strength Cond Res 34: 2250–2257, 2020.
Weakley J, Cowley N, Schoenfeld BJ, et al. The effect of feedback on resistance training performance and adaptations: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med 53: 1789–1803, 2023.
Weakley J, Morrison M, García-Ramos A, et al. The validity and reliability of commercially available resistance training monitoring devices: A systematic review. Sports Med 51: 443–502, 2021.
Weakley J, Till K, Sampson J, et al. The effects of augmented feedback on sprint, jump, and strength adaptations in rugby union players after a 4-week training program. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 14: 1205–1211, 2019.
Weakley J, Wilson K, Till K, et al. Show me, tell me, encourage me: The effect of different forms of feedback on resistance training performance. J Strength Cond Res 34: 3157–3163, 2020.
Weakley JJ, Wilson KM, Till K, et al. Visual feedback attenuates mean concentric barbell velocity loss and improves motivation, competitiveness, and perceived workload in male adolescent athletes. J Strength Cond Res 33: 2420–2425, 2019.
Wilson KM, Helton WS, de Joux NR, Head JR, Weakley JJ. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting. Real-Time Quantitative Performance Feedback During Strength Exercise Improves Motivation, Competitiveness, Mood, and Performance. CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications Sage, 2017. pp. 1546–1550.
Wulf G. Attentional focus and motor learning: A review of 15 years. Int Rev Sport Exerc Psychol 6: 77–104, 2013.
Wulf G, Höß M, Prinz W. Instructions for motor learning: Differential effects of internal versus external focus of attention. J Mot Behav 30: 169–179, 1998.
Wulf G, Lewthwaite R. Optimizing performance through intrinsic motivation and attention for learning: The OPTIMAL theory of motor learning. Psychon Bulletin Review 23: 1382–1414, 2016.
Grant Information: Australian Catholic University
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: aged; mean concentric velocity; muscle strength; physical functional performance; power
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20260407 Date Completed: 20260714 Latest Revision: 20260714
Update Code: 20260715
DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000005380
PMID: 41944695
Database: MEDLINE
Description
ISSN:1533-4287
DOI:10.1519/JSC.0000000000005380