Articles : Effects of a Single Session of High Volume Low Resistance Exercise on Blood Lipids in Untrained Young Men

Journal of Exercise Nutrition & Biochemistry 2005;9(1):15-22.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the acute effect of a single session of high volume low resistance exercise on plasma concentrations of lipoprotein-lipids and post-heparin lipoprotein lipases. Twenty subjects consisting of apparently healthy and untrained young men were randomly divided into either control (CON) group (n = 10) or exercise (EX) group (n = 10). Following an overnight fasting, the EX group underwent a single session of high volume resistance exercise involving 13 different exercises. Each exercise was performed with 40% 1RM resistance, repetitions until failed each time, 1 minute rest interval between sets, duration of 90 minutes, and concentric to eccentric contraction ratio of 2 : 3 seconds. On the other hand, the CON group had 90 minutes of quiet resting. Venous blood samples prior to, 5 min, 6 hr, 24 hr, and 48 hr after each treatment were collected from an antecubital vein into the EDTA-treated tubes for the measurements of blood lipoprotein-lipids. Additional venous samples 60 minutes prior to and 24 hr after each treatment were collected into the EDTA treated-tubes following a bolus injection of heparin injections for post-heparin releasable lipoprotein lipases (i.e., lipoprotein lipase and hepatic lipase). The EX group had significantly increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and decreased triglyceride (TG) concentrations during the recovery period. In the EX group, resting concentration of total HDL-C (1.24±0.09 mM) increased by 11% (1.38±0.14 mM) at the 24 hr post-exercise period. The increase in the total HDL-C concentration was mainly attributed to 19% increase in HDL₃-C(0.83±0.11 vs. 0.99±.12 mM). The mean values (1.59±0.28 mM) of resting TG concentrations decreased significantly by 14% (1.36±0.15 mM) and 13% (1.38±0.19 mM) at the 6 hr and 24 hr post-exercise periods, respectively. In addition, the EX group had a significant increase in the post-heparin released lipoprotein lipase (PHLPL) level following the resistance exercise, while no significant change in PHLPL was found in the CON group. The current findings of the study suggest that a single session of high volume resistance exercise can induce increased HDL-C concentrations along with decreased TG concentration, which are mediated by elevated lipoprotein lipase activity in circulating plasma.

Key Words: post-heparin released Lipoprotein Lipase, young men, resistance exercise