No abstract

The Pilates method did not improve functionality and pain in patients who have low back pain when compared with control and lumbar stabilization exercise groups.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 12 weeks of resistance training (RT) on phase angle (PhA), inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers, and to evaluate whether these RT-induced adaptations are related to PhA changes. Fifty-one older women (70.6 ± 5.1 years; 26.9 ± 4.2 kg/m ) were randomly allocated into a training group (TG) that performed 12-week RT or a nonexercising control group (CG). The PhA (Xitron), body composition (DXA), and blood sample measurements (after a 12 hours fast) were performed before and after the intervention. The TG showed a significant (P < .05) increase in PhA (TG: +7.4±5.9% vs CG: -3.6 ± 8.8%), and interleukin-10 (IL-10; TG: +51.8 ± 71.1% vs CG: -46.6 ± 38.0%), and a decrease in tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α; TG: -15.2 ± 11.1% vs CG: +6.9±17.7%), interleukin-6 (IL-6; TG: -17.9 ± 17.8% vs CG: +6.1 ± 24.8%), and C-reactive protein (CRP; TG: -24.1 ± 19.9% vs CG: +43.8 ± 31.1%). Moreover, TG upregulated catalase (TG: +11.4 ± 15.0% vs CG: -6.7 ± 10.2%). Changes in TNF-α (r = -.71), CRP (r = -.65), lower advanced oxidation protein products (r = -.55), and catalase (r = +.73) after RT were correlated with changes in PhA (P < .05). These results suggest that RT improves PhA, inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers, and the changes in inflammatory and oxidative damage markers are correlated with changes in PhA.

Tomeleri, CM, Ribeiro, AS, Nunes, JP, Schoenfeld, BJ, Souza, MF, Schiavoni, D, Junior, PS, Cavaglieri, CR, Cunha, PM, Venturini, D, Barbosa, DS, and Cyrino, ES. Influence of resistance training exercise order on muscle strength, hypertrophy, and anabolic hormones in older women: a randomized controlled trial. J Strength Cond Res 34(11): 3103–3109, 2020—The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of resistance training (RT) exercise order on muscle strength, hypertrophy, and anabolic hormones in older women. Forty-four older women were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: a nonexercise control group (CON, n = 15) and two RT groups that performed a 12-week RT program in a multijoint to single-joint order (MJ-SJ, n = 14), or in a single-joint to multijoint order (SJ-MJ, n = 15). The RT protocol (3×/week) encompassed 8 exercises, with 3 sets of 10–15 repetitions performed per exercise. One repetition maximum tests were used to evaluate muscle strength; dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to estimate lean soft tissue. Both training groups showed significant and similar increases in muscle strength (MJ-SJ = 16.4%; SJ-MJ = 12.7%) and mass (MJ-SJ = 7.5%; SJ-MJ = 6.1%), whereas there were no significant changes in testosterone and insulin-like growth factor 1. The results suggest that both approaches are similarly effective in eliciting morphofunctional improvements in older women.

This study analyzed the effects of 12 weeks of resistance training (RT) on resting blood pressure (BP) and plasma levels of nitric oxide metabolites (NOx) in pre- and hypertensive older women, and evaluated the relationship between these 2 parameters. Thirty-five older women (68.2±5.7 years, 70.0±14.4 kg, 157.1±6.4 cm, 28.3±5.0 kg.m) were randomly allocated into a training group (TG; n=17), which performed a 12-week RT program, and a control group (CG; n=18), which did not perform any physical exercise. Anthropometry, one repetition maximum (1RM), body composition analysis by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, blood samples, and resting BP were measured. There was a significant interaction for all variables analyzed, in which reductions of systolic BP (-8.5%), diastolic BP (-8.4%), and mean arterial pressure (-8.5%), and increases of NOx (+35.2%) were observed only for the TG. Moreover, a negative and significant correlation was observed (P<0.05; r=-0.63) between NOx and systolic BP in the TG. Results suggest that a 12-week RT program is sufficient to induce reductions in BP in pre- and hypertensive older women and that the decrease in systolic BP is associated with an increase in plasma NOx concentration.