EFFECTS OF ENDURANCE AND RESISTANCE TRAINING ON BODY COMPOSITION

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of the study was to compare the endurance and resistance training effects on body composition. Material and Methods: Forty healthy male and female participants, aged 20 to 35, were equally assigned to 12 weeks of Endurance (n=20) and Resistance training (n=20) groups. Both trainings comprised 3 sessions per week of 45-60 minutes each with progression induced with the passage of time. Body mass, body mass index, %body fat, %muscle mass, %body water, waist circumference, hip circumference, and waist-to- hip ratio were calculated with bioelectrical impedance analysis and measurement tape. Data collection was repeated after 12 weeks of training. Between-group analyses were done by independent-samples t test while paired-samples t test was used to analyze within-group changes. Results: After endurance training, all parameters improved significantly (p<0.001) except for the waist-to-hip ratio (p=0.054). Conversely, there was no significant change after resistance training in any parameter except for a significant reduction in hip circumference (p<0.05). Conclusion: Results suggested that 12 weeks of Endurance training had positive effects on body composition and other variables while resistance training did not affect body composition. Keywords: Body composition, Endurance training and Resistance training