Older patients with Parkinson's disease said high-intensity strength training produced significant improvements in quality of life, mood and motor function. Lead author Marcas Bamman, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said 15 subjects with moderate Parkinson's underwent 16 weeks of high-intensity resistance training combined with interval training designed to simultaneously challenge strength, power, endurance, balance and mobility function. This was the first study of its kind to look at the biology of the muscles.