Effects of Continuous and Intermittent Exercise type for 12 weeks on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Middle-aged Women

Abstract

Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of continuous combined exercise with detraining and retraining on metabolic syndrome risk factors in middle-aged women. Methods Forty women (40-49 years) were randomly divided into four groups, continuous combined training group (CCTG, n = 10), intermittent combined training group (ICTG, n = 10) and continuous aerobic training group (CATG, n = 10), intermittent aerobic training continuous group (IATG, n = 10). CCTG and CATG was trained for 12 weeks and ICTG and IATG was trained for the first 4 weeks, detrained for the following 4 weeks, and then retrained for the last 4 weeks. CCTG and ICTG conducted a combined exercise program, CATG and IATG conducted an aerobic exercise for 60 minutes a day, 3 days per week. Date analyzing method were two-way repeated ANOVA, one-way ANOVA and scheffé, paired t-test using SPSS 21.0. Results Cardiovascular risk factors were measured before and 12 weeks after training. Combined exercise for 12 weeks was effective for cardiovascular risk factors such as body weight, % body fat, 1,600 m walk & run, glucose, HDL-C and triglyceride. However, intermittent combined exercise group was effective only in blood glucose and HDL-C. When aerobic exercise was continued for 12 weeks, it was effective only in % body fat and 1,600 m walk & run, and it was not effective in all items when intermittent. Conclusions Thus, the combined exercise was more effective for cardiovascular risk factors than intermittent exercise and continuous exercise than aerobic exercise. However, in intermittent exercise, combined exercise, including strength training, was more effective for cardiovascular risk factors than aerobic exercise. Key words: Combined exercise, Aerobic exercise, Middle-aged women, Cardiovascular disease, Intermittent exercise