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

Abstract

Background: Endurance training (ET) and resistance training (RT) are known to be effective in improving anthropometric/body composition and lipid panel indicators, but there is an evident lack of studies on differential effects of these two forms of physical exercise (PE). This study aimed to evaluate the differential effects of 8-week ET and RT among young adult women. Methods: Participants were women (n = 57; age: 23 ± 3 years; initial body height: 165 ± 6 cm; body mass: 66.79 ± 7.23 kg; BMI: 24.37 ± 2.57 kg/m2) divided into the ET group (n = 20), RT group (n = 19), and non-exercising control group (n = 18). All participants were tested for cardiovascular risk factors (CRF), including total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), triglycerides, glucose, and anthropometric/body composition (body mass, body mass index, skinfold measures, body fat %) at the beginning and at the end of the study. Over the 8 weeks, the ET group trained three times/week on a treadmill while the RT group participated in equal number of circuit weight training sessions. Both types of training were planned according to participants’ pre-study fitness status. Results: A two-factor analysis of variance for repeated measurements (“group” × “measurement”) revealed significant main effects for “measurement” in CRF. The “group × measurement” interaction was significant for CRF. The post-hoc analysis indicated significant improvements in CRF for RT and ET. No significant differential effects between RT and ET were evidenced. Conclusions: The results of this study evidence improvements of CRF in young adult women as a result of 8-week ET and RT. The lack of differential training-effects may be attributed to the fact that all participants underwent pre-study screening of their fitness status, which resulted in application of accurate training loads.

Effects of Resistance Circuit-Based Training on Body Composition, Strength and Cardiorespiratory Fitness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Of these, 799 abstracts and titles were reviewed, 726 articles were deleted, and 73 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. Finally, 45 studies [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 ] met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, including 58 experimental groups ( n = 897 participants) and 34 control groups ( n = 474 participants) ( Figure 1 ).…”

Indices of Cardiovascular Health, Body Composition and Aerobic Endurance in Young Women; Differential Effects of Two Endurance-Based Training Modalities

“…One of the most important benefits of endurance training is the decrease in cardiovascular risk (e.g., probability of developing a cardiovascular disease), and improvement of cardiovascular health [ 13 ]. Although the cardiovascular risk is higher in men [ 14 ], low levels of PA in women today highlight the importance of PE in reducing cardiovascular risk factors in this group [ 15 , 16 ]. Among the many indicators of cardiovascular health, several variables deserve special attention, including variables of lipid panel, and anthropometric/body build status.…”

“…Therefore, evaluations of lipid panel, and anthropometric/body built status are valuable tools in assessing risk for cardiovascular problems [ 20 , 21 ]. Among other types of interventions, studies even have evaluated the effects of different types of PE on various indices of cardiovascular health status in women [ 8 , 16 , 22 ].…”

“…The effects of combined-type training (45 min of aerobic exercise and 20min of resistance training) in women were also studied, and positive effects on morphological measures, blood pressure, and lipid panel were found [ 15 ]. Finally, a recent study showed that both resistance training and endurance training have a positive impact on the cardiovascular health indices of healthy young women, with no significant differences between groups conducting different forms of PE [ 16 ].…”

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

“…Physical exercise is a form of physical activity performed with a specific goal and is accordingly planned and structured [ 13 ]. These goals are mainly focused on inducing changes in anthropometric/body composition indices (i.e., decrease in fat mass and increase in lean body mass) and improvements in muscular fitness (i.e., strength, flexibility, and balance), which together have a positive impact on cardiovascular health and overall health status [ 14 , 15 ]. Physical exercise comes in many different structures and forms, with resistance training, endurance training, and a combination of the two types as the most commonly practiced [ 13 , 16 ].…”