Comparision of Low and High Volume of Resistance Training on Body Fat and Blood Biomarkers in Untrained Older Women: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Cunha, PM, Tomeleri, CM, Nascimento, MA, Mayhew, JL, Fungari, E, Cyrino, LT, Barbosa, DS, Venturini, D, and Cyrino, ES. Comparision of low and high volume of resistance training on body fat and blood biomarkers in untrained older women: a randomized clinical trial. J Strength Cond Res 35(1): 1–8, 2021—The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of resistance training (RT) performed with 2 different volumes on body fat and blood biomarkers in untrained older women. Sixty-five physically independent older women (≥60 years) were randomly assigned to one of 3 groups: low-volume (LV) training group, high-volume (HV) training group, and a control group. Both training groups performed RT for 12 weeks, using 8 exercises of 10–15 repetitions maximum for each exercise. The low-volume group performed only a single set per exercise, whereas the HV group performed 3 sets. Anthropometric, body fat (%), trunk fat, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, very LDL-c (VLDL-c), glucose (GLU), C-reactive protein (CRP), and composite Z-score were measured. The HV group obtained greater improvements compared with the LV group (p < 0.05) for TG (LV = −10.5% vs. HV = −16.6%), VLDL-c (LV = −6.5% vs. HV = −14.8%), GLU (LV = −4.7% vs. HV = −11.1%), CRP (LV = −13.2% vs. HV = −30.8%), % body fat (LV = −2.4% vs. HV = −6.1%), and composite Z-score (LV = −0.13 ± 0.30 vs. HV = −0.57 ± 0.29). Trunk fat was reduced (p < 0.05) only in the HV group (−6.8%). We conclude that RT performed in higher volume seems to be the most appropriate strategy to reduce body fat (%), trunk fat, improve blood biomarkers, and reduce composite Z-score in older women.

Effects of Three Resistance Exercise Orders on Muscular Function and Body Composition in Older Women

“…However, the hypothesis that these occurred due to possible overtraining should not be dismissed. Although we opted for using a relatively high volume in the 24 weeks of RT because we had observed that this seems to be ideal for inducing optimal adaptations in the outcomes studied herein for this population [12,[23][24][25][26][27][28], the use of such training protocol might have exceeded the ideal training dose for some participants. Moreover, the presence of the ALT group, which performed the same EO throughout the 24 weeks of RT, allows us to believe that simply changing the EO after a 12-week training period does not influence the responses to training.…”

Effects of Pyramid Resistance-Training System with Different Repetition Zones on Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Older Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Current evidence suggests that increases in strength are more dependent on the intensity of load, while muscle hypertrophy is related to the RT volume [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. However, the best approach to improve CVD risk factors in older women is still unknown [ 6 , 7 , 17 , 18 ]. Recently, our group showed that traditional RT, even at low volume (1 set per exercise, 10–15 repetitions-maximum (RM), 3x/week–non-consecutive days) improved total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), glucose (GLU), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in untrained older women [ 19 ].…”

“…Recently, our group showed that traditional RT, even at low volume (1 set per exercise, 10–15 repetitions-maximum (RM), 3x/week–non-consecutive days) improved total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), glucose (GLU), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in untrained older women [ 19 ]. Moreover, we observed that performing a higher volume (3 sets per exercise, 10–15 RM) resulted in greater improvements [ 18 ].…”

“…Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of the pyramid systems with narrow and wide repetitions zones on CVD risk factors in older women. Considering that higher training volume may induce more significant fat loss [ 18 , 24 ], greater muscle growth may be related to a reduction in CVD risk factors [ 6 , 7 , 9 ], and the preliminary results on muscle function show a favorable benefit for the wide repetition-zone pyramid [ 22 , 23 ], we hypothesized that the broader repetition-zone pyramid training would induce better adaptations on body fat and blood markers related to glycemic, lipid, and inflammatory profiles.…”

Endurance Training vs. Circuit Resistance Training: Effects on Lipid Profile and Anthropometric/Body Composition Status in Healthy Young Adult Women

“…Resistance training is a popular and convenient form of exercise and its positive effects on anthropometric/body composition status in women of different ages and with various health conditions have already been documented [46,47]. In our study, we applied organized circuit weight training as a form of resistance training.…”