Exercise, physical confidence, and quality of life in older adults
Andrew Hatchett, Ben Bowers, Savanna Spires, Brock Renicks, Iris Hatchett · Journal of Sports Science and Nutrition · 2026
Regular physical activity is widely recognized as an essential component of healthy aging; however, the relative contributions of specific exercise modalities to psychosocial outcomes remain incompletely understood. This study examined whether participation in weight training, cardiovascular exercise, and flexibility exercise independently predicted quality of life, physical independence, and confidence in physical abilities among community-dwelling older adults. Forty-eight adults aged 51-87 years completed a 19-item questionnaire assessing demographic characteristics, exercise participation, and self-reported health outcomes. Three simultaneous multiple linear regression analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS to determine the independent associations of weight training, cardiovascular exercise, and flexibility exercise with quality of life, physical independence, and confidence in physical abilities. Regression analyses demonstrated that exercise modality did not significantly predict quality of life (R² = 0.097, p = 0.216) or physical independence (R² = 0.050, p = 0.516). In contrast, the model predicting confidence in physical abilities was significant (R² = 0.312, adjusted R² = 0.266, p < 0.001), with weight training emerging as the only independent predictor (β = 0.307, p = 0.040). Cardiovascular and flexibility exercise demonstrated positive but non-significant associations with confidence. Resistance training appears to provide meaningful psychological benefits beyond its established physiological effects, independently enhancing confidence in physical abilities among older adults. Although no significant associations were observed between exercise modality and quality of life or physical independence, improved physical confidence may represent an important mechanism through which resistance training promotes sustained exercise participation and successful aging. These
Findings: support incorporating resistance training into healthy aging interventions while highlighting the need for prospective studies using
Objective: measures of physical function and exercise dose to clarify causal pathways.