Acute Hormonal and Inflammatory Responses following Lower and Upper Body Resistance Exercises Performed to Volitional Failure.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a single bench press (BP) vs. leg press (LP) resistance training sessions on testosterone, cortisol, C-reactive protein (CRP) interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) concentrations, and creatine kinase (CK) activity in strength-trained males. Eleven strength-trained males participated in a cross-over randomized trial, undergoing two experimental sessions each consisting of five sets of the BP or the LP exercise to volitional failure with a load corresponding to 50% of one-repetition maximum. Blood samples were taken at baseline (BA), immediately post (POST), and 1 h after the cessation of exercise (POST-1). A significant increase in IL-6 concentration from BA to POST-1 was observed during the LP condition (p = 0.004; effect size [ES] = 0.64). Additionally, a significant main effect of time was found for increasing testosterone concentrations from BA to POST exercise (p = 0.014; ES = 0.25). A significantly lower cortisol concentration at POST-1 compared to POST (p = 0.001; ES = 1.02) was noted in the BP condition. Furthermore, a significantly lower cortisol concentration was found at POST-1 in the BP compared to the LP condition (p = 0.022; ES = 1.3). A significant increase in CK activity was reported from BA to POST (p = 0.024; ES = 0.69) and POST-1 (p = 0.045; ES = 0.55) during the LP condition, and from BA to POST-1 (p = 0.014; ES = 0.96) during the BP condition. No significant differences were found in the CRP (p = 0.659) and TNF-α concentrations (p = 0.487). These results suggest that the amount of muscle mass engaged during the resistance exercise may influence the changes in IL-6 and cortisol concentrations. Larger muscle groups, as engaged in the LP, more likely lead to elevated concentrations of IL-6 myokine.

Modification of blood antioxidant status and lipid profile in response to high-intensity endurance exercise after low doses of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids supplementation in healthy volunteers.

We investigated whether endurance exercise might modify the blood antioxidant status and lipid profile after omega-3 fatty acid supplementation. Two groups of healthy, fit males performed 1 h of exercise with a constant work load corresponding to 60% of their individual VO(2 max) and various pedaling rates (45 min-60 rev/min followed by a maximal rate), before and after receiving, over 6 weeks, omega-3 fatty acids in a daily dose of 1.3 g or placebo. The resting concentration of triglycerides decreased after omega-3 fatty acid consumption. In response to endurance exercise, the superoxide dismutase activity markedly decreased in sedentary control subjects. This effect was partially protected by omega-3 fatty acid consumption. Supplementation tended to increase atalase activity in response to exercise, and this activity was significantly higher after 1 h of recovery. We conclude that the beneficial effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation during endurance exercise may be due to the activation of the superoxide dismutase and catalase pathways.