Effects of resistance training frequency on body composition and metabolics and inflammatory markers in overweight postmenopausal women

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Monitoring muscle damage markers during a four-week downhill walking exercise program

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Strength gain through eccentric isotonic training without changes in clinical signs or blood markers

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Aerobic Training Prevents Dexamethasone-Induced Peripheral Insulin Resistance

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effects of strength and balance training on the mobility, fear of falling and grip strength of elderly female fallers

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of virtual reality and strength training on the balance, fear of falling and handgrip strength of older women with a history of falls. The fear of falling, mobility and grip strength were evaluated in 11 elderly fallers (72.4 ± 5.2 years). The faller group was submitted to 12 weeks of virtual reality and muscle strength training. The results showed improvement in mobility (p = 0.0004) and in the fear of falling (p = 0.002). No significant difference was observed for hand grip strength. It can be concluded that virtual reality and muscle strength interventions are beneficial for mobility and fear of falling in older women with a history of falls.

The effects of elastic tubing-based resistance training compared with conventional resistance training in patients with moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a randomized clinical trial

Objective: To investigate the effects of elastic tubing training compared with conventional resistance training on the improvement of functional exercise capacity, muscle strength, fat-free mass, and systemic inflammation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Design: A prospective, randomized, eight-week clinical trial.Setting: The study was conducted in a university-based, outpatient, physical therapy clinic.Subjects: A total of 49 patients with moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Interventions: Participants were randomly assigned to perform elastic tubing training or conventional resistance training three times per week for eight weeks.Main measures: The primary outcome measure was functional exercise capacity. The secondary outcome measures were peripheral muscle strength, health-related quality of life assessed by the Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire (CRDQ), fat-free mass, and cytokine profile.Results: After eight weeks, the mean distance covered during six minutes increased by 73 meters (69) in the elastic tubing group and by 42 meters (+/- 59) in the conventional group (p < 0.05). The muscle strength and quality of life improved in both groups (P < 0.05), with no significant differences between the groups. There was a trend toward an improved fat-free mass in both groups (P = 0.05). After the first and last sessions, there was an increase in interleukin 1 (IL-1) and interleukin 10 (IL-10) in both groups, while tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-) was stimulated only in the conventional training group.Conclusion: Elastic tubing training had a greater effect on functional exercise capacity than conventional resistance training. Both interventions were equally effective in improving muscle strength and quality of life.

Treatment of Dyslipidemia with Statins and Physical Exercises: Recent Findings of Skeletal Muscle Responses

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Improvement of the physical performance is associated with activation of NO/PGC-l alpha/mtTFA signaling pathway and increased protein expressions of electron transport chain in gastrocnemius muscle from rats supplemented with L-arginine

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effects of different resistance training frequencies on flexibility in older women

Objective: The main purpose of the investigation reported here was to analyze the effect of resistance training (RT) performed at different weekly frequencies on flexibility in older women.Participants and methods: Fifty-three older women (>= 60 years old) were randomly assigned to perform RT either two (n= 28; group "G2x"), or three (n= 25; group "G3x") times per week. The RT program comprised eight exercises in which the participants performed one set of 10-15 repetitions maximum for a period of 12 weeks. Anthropometric, body-composition, and flexibility measurements were made at baseline and post-study. The flexibility measurements were obtained by a fleximeter.Results: A significant group-by-time interaction (P<0.01) was observed for frontal hip flexion, in which G3x showed a higher increase than G2x (+12.8% and +3.0%, respectively). Both groups increased flexibility in cervical extension (G2x=+19.1%, G3x=+20.0%), right hip flexion (G2x=+14.6%, G3x=+15.9%), and left hip flexion (G2x=+25.7%, G3x=+19.2%), with no statistical difference between groups. No statistically significant differences were noted for the increase in skeletal muscle mass between training three versus two times a week (+7.4% vs +4.4%, respectively).Conclusion: Twelve weeks of RT improves the flexibility of different joint movements in older women, and the higher frequency induces greater increases for frontal hip flexion.

Can geometric indices of heart rate variability predict improvement in autonomic modulation after resistance training in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with autonomic dysfunctions that can be evaluated through heart rate variability (HRV). Resistance training promotes improvement in autonomic modulation; however, studies that evaluate this scenario using geometric indices, which include nonlinear evaluation, thus providing more accurate information for physiological interpretation of HRV, are unknown. This study aimed to investigate the influence of resistance training on autonomic modulation, using geometric indices of HRV, and peripheral muscle strength in individuals with COPD. Fourteen volunteers with COPD were submitted to resistance training consisting of 24 sessions lasting 60 min each, with a frequency of three times a week. The intensity was determined as 60% of one maximum repetition and was progressively increased until 80% for the upper and lower limbs. The HRV and dynamometry were performed at two moments, the beginning and the end of the experimental protocol. Significant increases were observed in the RRtri (4·81 ± 1·60 versus 6·55 ± 2·69, P = 0·033), TINN (65·36 ± 35·49 versus 101·07 ± 63·34, P = 0·028), SD1 (7·48 ± 3·17 versus 11·04 ± 6·45, P = 0·038) and SD2 (22·30 ± 8·56 versus 32·92 ± 18·78, P = 0·022) indices after the resistance training. Visual analysis of the Poincare plot demonstrated greater dispersion beat-to-beat and in the long-term interval between consecutive heart beats. Regarding muscle strength, there was a significant increase in the shoulder abduction and knee flexion. In conclusion, geometric indices of HRV can predict improvement in autonomic modulation after resistance training in individuals with COPD; improvement in peripheral muscle strength in patients with COPD was also observed.

Downhill running excessive training inhibits hypertrophy in mice skeletal muscles with different fiber type composition

The aim of this study was to verify the effects of running overtraining protocols performed in downhill, uphill, and without inclination on the proteins related to hypertrophy signaling pathway in extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and soleus of C57BL/6 mice. We also performed histological and stereological analyses. Rodents were divided into control (CT; sedentary mice), overtrained by downhill running (OTR/down), overtrained by uphill running (OTR/up), and overtrained by running without inclination (OTR). The incremental load, exhaustive, and grip force tests were used as performance evaluation parameters. 36 h after the grip force test, EDL and soleus were removed and immediately used for immunoblotting analysis or stored at -80°C for histological and stereological analyses. For EDL, OTR/down decreased the protein kinase B (Akt) and tuberous sclerosis protein 2 (TSC2) phosphorylation (p), and increased myostatin, receptor-activated Smads (pSMAD2-3), and insulin receptor substrate-1 (pIRS-1; Ser307/636). OTR/down also presented low and high relative proportions of cytoplasm and connective tissue, respectively. OTR/up increased the mammalian target of rapamycin (pmTOR), 70-kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 (pS6K1) and pSMAD2-3, and decreased pTSC2. OTR decreased pTSC2 and increased pIRS-1 (Ser636). For soleus, OTR/down increased S6 ribosomal protein (pS6RP) and pSMAD2-3, and decreased pIRS-1 (Ser639). OTR/up decreased pS6K1, pS6RP and pIRS-1 (Ser639), and increased pTSC2 (Ser939), and pSMAD2-3. OTR increased pS6RP, 4E-binding protein-1 (p4E-BP1), pTSC2 (Ser939), and pSMAD2-3, and decreased pIRS-1 (Ser639). In summary, OTR/down inhibited the skeletal muscle hypertrophy with concomitant signs of atrophy in EDL. The effects of OTR/up and OTR depended on the analyzed skeletal muscle type. J. Cell. Physiol. 9999: 1-12, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Effects of an isostretching training protocol to increase the musculoarticular flexibility and other physiological aspetcs on the quality of life

Purpose: To apply the technique of Isostretching in a group of people over age 50 years and compare the flexibility of the posterior muscular chain before and after treatment, observing whether there was improvement in quality of life after the end of the sessions. Method: Eleven healthy and sedentary people from 51 to 74 years old participated in the study, which was conducted in Brazil. To evaluate the flexibility we applied the SF-36 questionnaire and test flexion of the spine before and after the study. Eight domains were accessed with the scores ranging form zero to one hundred. Results And Discussion:The technique was effective to gain flexibility of the posterior muscle group, which results in better quality of life for the participants. The results show that the domains related to physical health obtained the highest scores (“functional capacity”, “limitation in physical aspects” and “pain”). These aspects are strongly emphasised in a physical therapy treatment.

Effects of strength and power training on neuromuscular adaptations and jumping movement pattern and performance

Effects of strength and power training on neuromuscular adaptations and jumping movement pattern and performance. J Strength Cond Res 26(12): 3335-3344, 2012-This study aimed at comparing the effects of strength and power training (ST and PT) regimens on neuromuscular adaptations and changes on vertical jump performance, kinetics, and kinematics parameters. Forty physically active men (178.2 +/- 7.0 cm; 75.1 +/- 8.6 kg; 23.6 +/- 3.5 years) with at least 2 years of ST experience were assigned to an ST (n = 14), a PT (n = 14), or a control group (C; n = 12). The training programs were performed during 8 weeks, 3 times per week. Dynamic and isometric maximum strength, cross-sectional area, and muscle activation were assessed before and after the experimental period. Squat jump (SJ) and countermovement jump (CMJ) performance, kinetics, and kinematics parameters were also assessed. Dynamic maximum strength increased similarly (p < 0.05) for the ST (22.8%) and PT (16.6%) groups. The maximum voluntary isometric contraction increased for the ST and PT groups (p < 0.05) in the posttraining assessments. There was a main time effect for muscle fiber cross-sectional area (p < 0.05), but there were no changes in muscle activation. The SJ height increased, after ST and PT, because of a faster concentric phase and a higher rate of force development (p < 0.05). The CMJ height increased only after PT (p < 0.05), but there were no significant changes in its kinetics and kinematics parameters. In conclusion, neuromuscular adaptations were similar between the training groups. The PT seemed more effective than the ST in increasing jumping performance, but neither the ST nor the PT was able to affect the SJ and the CMJ movement pattern (e.g., timing and sequencing of joint extension initiation).

Effects of strength and power training on neuromuscular variables in older adults

The purpose of this study was to compare the neuromuscular adaptations produced by strength-training (ST) and power-training (PT) regimens in older individuals. Participants were balanced by quadriceps cross-sectional area (CSA) and leg-press 1-repetition maximum and randomly assigned to an ST group (n = 14; 63.6 +/- 4.0 yr, 79.7 +/- 17.2 kg, and 163.9 +/- 9.8 cm), a PT group (n = 16; 64.9 +/- 3.9 yr. 63.9 +/- 11.9 kg, and 157.4 +/- 7.7 cm), or a control group (n = 13; 63.0 +/- 4.0 yr, 67.2 +/- 10.8 kg, and 159.8 +/- 6.8 cm). ST and PT were equally effective in increasing (a) maximum dynamic and isometric strength (p < .05), (b) increasing quadriceps muscle CSA (p < .05), and (c) decreasing electrical mechanical delay of the vastus lateralis muscle (p < .05). There were no significant changes in neuromuscular activation after training. The novel finding of the current study is that PT seems to be an attractive alternative to regular ST to maintain and improve muscle mass.

Do muscle strengthening exercises improve performance in the 6-minute walk test in postmenopausal women?

Background: Walking speed seems to be related to aerobic capacity, lower limb strength, and functional mobility, however it is not clear whether there is a direct relationship between improvement in muscle strength and gait performance in early postmenopausal women. Objective: To evaluate the effect of muscle strengthening exercises on the performance of the 6-minute walk test in women within 5 years of menopause. Methods: The women were randomized into control group (n=31), which performed no exercise, and exercise group (n=27), which performed muscle strengthening exercises. The exercises were performed twice a week for 3 months. The exercise protocol consisted of warm-up, stretching, and strengthening of the quadriceps, hamstring, calf, tibialis anterior, gluteus maximus, and abdominal muscles, followed by relaxation. Muscular strength training started with 60% of 1MR (2 series of 10-15 repetitions), reaching 85% until the end of the 3-month period (4 series of 6 repetitions each). Results: The between-group comparisons pre- and post-intervention did not show any difference in distance walked, heart rate or blood pressure (p>0.05), but showed differences in muscle strength post-intervention, with the exercise group showing greater strength (p<0.05). In the within-group comparison, there were differences in final heart rate and quadriceps and hamstring strength pre- and post-intervention in the exercise group (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results suggest that muscle strengthening of the lower limbs did not improve performance in the 6-minute walk test in this population of postmenopausal women. Trial registration ACTRN12609001053213.