Fish Oil Supplementation Improves the Repeated-Bout Effect and Redox Balance in 20–30-Year-Old Men Submitted to Strength Training

Abstract

Herein, we investigated the effect of fish oil supplementation combined with a strength-training protocol, for 6 weeks, on muscle damage induced by a single bout of strength exercise in untrained young men. Sixteen men were divided into two groups, supplemented or not with fish oil, and they were evaluated at the pre-training period and post-training period. We investigated changes before and 0, 24, and 48 h after a single hypertrophic exercise session. Creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities, plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, and the redox imbalance were increased in response to the single-bout session of hypertrophic exercises at baseline (pre-training period) and decreased during the post-training period in the control group due to the repeated-bout effect (RBE). The fish oil supplementation exacerbated this reduction and improved the redox state. In summary, our findings demonstrate that, in untrained young men submitted to a strength-training protocol, fish oil supplementation is ideal for alleviating the muscle injury, inflammation, and redox imbalance induced by a single session of intense strength exercises, highlighting this supplementation as a beneficial strategy for young men that intend to engage in strength-training programs.

Nutrition and Exercise Interventions on Skeletal Muscle Physiology, Injury and Recovery: From Mechanisms to Therapy

“…In the study from Barquilha et al [ 21 ], the authors determined the modulating effects of fish oil supplementation, which has been proposed as having anti-inflammatory effects and increasing skeletal muscle function [ 22 , 23 ], on muscle damage markers and inflammatory cytokines after a unique hypertrophic exercise session in healthy eutrophic men trained using a undulating/strength exercise protocol for six weeks. The authors found that the supplementation reduced plasma indicators of muscle injury (reduced plasma CK and LDH activity), inflammation (lowed C-reactive protein and IL-6), and redox balance (elevated GSH:GSSG ratio).…”