The effect of concurrent training order on hormonal responses and body composition in obese men

Abstract

Summary Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of intrasession sequencing of concurrent resistance and endurance training on the serum leptin, testosterone, cortisol responses and body composition in obese men. Patients and methods Thirty obese young men students (age = 23.2 ± 1.4 year, BMI = 31.8 ± 1.6 kg/m 2 ) were randomly divided into three groups: concurrent resistance-endurance (CRE, n = 10) group, concurrent endurance-resistance (CER, n = 10) group and control (C, n = 10) group (no training program). Concurrent training groups (CER and CRE) were conducted three times a week on alternate days for 8 weeks, which consisted of running with 70–75% of maximal heart rate (HRmax) for 10 minutes which gradually increased to 80% HRmax for 21.5 minutes and the resistance training consisted of 3 sets of 8 repetitions at 80% of 1 repetition maximum (1RM) in 5 resistance exercises (leg extensions, lying leg curl, triceps pushdown, bench press and lateral pull down). Five minutes recovery duration was set between resistance and endurance phases. To measure hormonal and body composition changes, blood sampling was conducted 48 hours before the start of the course and again 48 hours after the last training session. Results Results using ANOVA with repeated measurement showed that there were no significant differences within groups and between groups for testosterone hormone. Serum levels of cortisol in both experimental groups were significantly increases after 8 weeks of concurrent training. While, there were significantly decreases in leptin and testosterone/cortisol ratio after 8 weeks training intervention in both experimental groups. Also, in the CRE and CER groups, a significant decrease observed in the body mass, body fat and body mass index. In addition, the control group did not change significantly in the posttest in none of the variables. Comparison between groups showed similarly that the CRE group compared with the control group, have a significant positive changes in all hormonal and body composition variables, however, no significant difference was observed between the CRE and CER groups. Conclusion It can be concluded that concurrent resistance and endurance training aimed at weight loss by reducing body fat in obese subjects can be a good strategy, although the both CRE and CER order were effective in positive transformation of serum leptin, testosterone, cortisol concentration and body composition. However, concurrent resistance-endurance (CRE) training may have better efficacy.