The effects of low-volume combined training on health-related physical fitness outcomes in active young adults: A controlled clinical trial.

Abstract

The effects of combined training (CT) on improving general health are well known, however, few studies have investigated the effects of low-volume CT. So, the aim of this study is to investigate the effects of 6 weeks of low-volume CT on body composition, handgrip strength (HGS), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and affective response (AR) to exercise. Eighteen healthy, active young adult man (mean​±​SD, [20.06 ± 1.66] years; [22.23 ± 2.76]​kg/m2) performed either a low-volume CT (EG, n​=​9), or maintained a normal life (CG, n​=​9). The CT was composed of three resistance exercises followed by a high intensity-interval training (HIIT) on cycle ergometer performed twice a week. The measures of the body composition, HGS, maximal oxygen consumption ( O2max) and AR to exercise were taken at baseline and after training for analysis. Furthermore, an ANOVA test of repeated measures and t-test paired samples were used with a p​≤​0.05. The results showed that EG improved HGS (pre: [45.67 ± 11.84]​kg vs. post: [52.44 ± 11.90]​kg, p​<​0.01) and O2max (pre: [41.36 ± 5.16]​ml⋅kg-1⋅min-1 vs. post: [44.07 ± 5.98]​ml⋅kg-1⋅min-1, p​<​0.01). Although, for all measures the body composition had not significant differences between weeks (p​>​0.05), nevertheless the feeling scale was positive in all weeks and without significant differences between them (p​>​0.05). Lastly, for active young adults, the low-volume CT improved HGS, CRF and had a positive outcome in AR, with less volume and time spent than traditional exercise recommendations.