Differential Effects of Resistance- and Endurance-Based Exercise Programs on Muscular Fitness, Body Composition, and Cardiovascular Variables in Young Adult Women: Contextualizing the Efficacy of Self-Selected Exercise Modalities

Abstract

There is an evident lack of research simultaneously investigating endurance training (ET) and resistance training (RT) with regard to their potential influence on fitness and health status in young women. This study aimed to determine the effects of RT and ET three times a week over an eight-week period on anthropometric/body composition indices, blood pressure (BP), and muscular fitness in apparently healthy young women who participated in a self-preferred program. The sample of participants comprised 57 young healthy women (23.9 ± 3.08 years, 165.5 ± 5.8 cm, 66.8 ± 7.2 kg) divided into ET (n = 18), RT (n = 19), and non-exercising (C) (n = 20) groups. The variables consisted of anthropometric/body composition indices (body mass, BMI, body fat, and lean body mass), muscular fitness variables (lower body strength, upper body strength, abdominal strength, dynamometric force, and flexibility), and cardiovascular parameters (resting heart rate and systolic and diastolic BP). A pre- and post-testing design, with factorial analysis of variance for repeated measurements (ANOVA: Group × Measurement), including a consecutive post hoc test, was applied. The ANOVA indicated a similar improvement in body composition (increase in lean body mass and decrease in body fat percentage), resting heart rate, and flexibility in both of the exercise groups, with no significant changes in the C group. RT improved the participants’ strength and force capacities to a greater extent than ET. BP showed a trend of improvement in both of the training groups, but without statistically significant pre- to post-changes. Correlation analysis calculated with variables of pre- to post-differences (VDs) indicated poor associations between VDs, indicating relative independence of the obtained effects for the different variables in each training group. Although this investigation comprised apparently healthy young women, numerous positive changes indicated the efficacy of both programs in a relatively short period of time. While the participants in this study self-selected training programs, the evidenced positive effects can be at least partially related to this fact.

Acute Effects of Verbal Encouragement and Listening to Preferred Music on Maximal Repeated Change-of-Direction Performance in Adolescent Elite Basketball Players—Preliminary Report

“…Our finding on the independence of changes that occurred as a result of VE and PM actually implies that "individualization of the training" is not only a concept that should be respected in terms of "training load" (i.e., intensity or volume) but also a paradigm which should be valued in the process of selecting the training method (i.e., VE or PM). Although we could not find an empirical study that examined this issue in competitive athletes, the importance of an individualized approach in the application of self-preferred exercise modality has been confirmed in recent studies where recreational athletes were observed [40,41].…”

Differences in Adolescent’s Cardiometabolic Health: A Comparison Regarding Guided Team and Endurance Sports

“…Despite all of that, both aerobic and anaerobic physical exercise can increase the risk of overload and the risk of underdevelopment if not implemented properly in both children and adults [ 19 ]. On the other side, physical exercise will influence spatial coordination and orientation [ 20 , 21 ], next to muscular strength, speed, and aerobic resistance [ 22 ]. However, the motor abilities of young individuals are closely related to the physiological state, namely cardiac, respiratory, muscular, and nervous systems, along with height, body weight, body mass, and the level of physical exercise.…”