Effects of Different Resistance Training Frequencies on Fat in Overweight/Obese Older Women.

AIM: This study compared the effect of different resistance training (RT) frequencies on total, android, gynoid and trunk body fat in overweight/obese older women. METHODS: Fifty-seven overweight/obese older women (66.9±5.3 years and 39.9±4.9% body fat) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a group performing RT twice a week (G2X), a group performing RT three times a week (G3X), or a non-exercise control group (CG). Both training groups performed the same 12-week RT program consisting of 8 exercises that trained all major muscle groups. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to assess body composition. RESULTS: After the intervention period, both G2X and G3X demonstrated significant (P<0.05) reductions in adiposity compared to the CG for total body fat (G2X=-1.7%, G3X=-2.7%, CG=+2.1%), android fat (G2X=-6.2%, G3X=-7.0%, CG=+8.6%), gynoid fat (G2X=-2.5%, G3X=-2.9%, CG=+1.0%), and trunk fat (G2X=-2.5%, G3X=-3.0%, CG=+2.9%), with no significant differences between training groups. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that a low-volume 12-week RT program performed two or three times per week causes decreases in total and regional fat deposition with the greatest reductions occurring in the android region.

Static stretching and performance in multiple sets in the bench press exercise.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the acute effect of static stretching on the performance of multiple sets in the bench press (BP) exercise. Fifteen men (26.2 ± 0.7 years, 72.4 ± 1.3 kg, 1.78 ± 0.1 m, 22.8 ± 0.3 kg·m) performed 4 sets of the BP exercise at 80% of 1 repetition maximum until concentric failure, both in the stretching condition (SC) and control condition (CC). The rate of force decline between the first and the fourth set was used as fatigue index. A randomized, counterbalanced, crossover design was performed with 48 hours between each session. Two static stretching exercises (pectoral and triceps brachii muscles) were performed in a single set before BP in SC, whereas in CC, subjects remained at rest for 150 seconds. For each stretching exercise, the muscle was held at the maximal stretched position for 30 seconds. No significant difference (p > 0.05) was identified for total repetitions performed in 4 sets (SC, 21.3 ± 0.7% vs. CC, 20.5 ± 0.7%) and in the fatigue index (SC, 75.5 ± 1.3% vs. CC, 73.2 ± 1.9%). The results suggest that the performance of multiple sets in the BP exercise does not seem to be influenced by previous static stretching.