COMPARISON BETWEEN BENCH PRESS AND LEG PRESS FOR CHANGES IN SERUM CREATINE KINASE ACTIVITY AND MUSCLE SORENESS

Abstract

We compared perceived muscle soreness (MS) and serum creatine kinase (CK) activity after upper body or lower body resistance exercise. A total of 64 previously sedentary men were randomized into two groups: bench press (BP; [Formula: see text], age [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]y, body mass [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]kg,) or leg press (LP; [Formula: see text], age [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]y, body mass [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]kg). Subjects were tested for 1RM for their respective exercise. Two weeks later, subjects performed four sets to failure of each exercise at 85% 1RM. MS and serum CK activity were assessed before exercise and 24, 48, and 72[Formula: see text]h after exercise. Volume load lifted was significantly greater during LP than BP ([Formula: see text][Formula: see text]kg versus [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]kg, respectively; [Formula: see text]). Despite a lesser volume load, BP elicited greater MS ([Formula: see text]) and peak CK activity ([Formula: see text]) than LP after exercise at each time period. MS was modestly correlated to volume load lifted during LP ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]) but not during BP ([Formula: see text]). CK activity was not correlated with volume load for either BP or LP. In addition, MS was not significantly correlated with CK at any time period. These data indicate that upper body resistance exercise elicits greater levels of MS and CK than does lower body exercise in untrained men and suggests that both factors appear to be more dependent on the muscle group engaged rather than the amount of weight lifted.