Short-term Physical Training Research Articles

ALTERAÇÕES DA FORÇA MUSCULAR EXPLOSIVA NO TREINAMENTO COM SHUTTLECOCK

ABSTRACT Introduction: Shuttlecock is a popular sport in China. Its level of competition depends on the athlete's body shape, strength, technique, tactics, and mentality, among other factors that require the mastery of the shuttlecock with all body parts except the hands. The physical preparation for this sport requires the explosive strength of specific muscles for its total domination. Objective: To explore the changes in explosive muscle strength in shuttlecock players after short-term physical training. Methods: College students in two shuttlecock elective classes were selected as volunteers for the research. The experiment divided the two classes into experimental and control groups. The conventional training method was used in the control group. The experimental group used a combination of a physical and routine training protocol. The groups were tested for fitness before and after the experimental intervention. The data obtained were statistically analyzed and discussed. Results: The experimental group's specific muscle strength and explosive power after physical training were better than the control groups. The scores of the experimental and control groups were significantly different in terms of physical flexibility, the number of kicks, and motor skill assessment (P<0.05). There was no statistical significance in the number of push-ups between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: Physical training significantly affects the physical quality of college students and their number of shots. Physical training is essential to improve shuttlecock practitioners’ muscular strength and explosive power. Level of evidence II; Therapeutic studies - investigation of treatment outcomes.

Static and Dynamic Balance Indices among Kindergarten Children: A Short-Term Intervention Program during COVID-19 Lockdowns.

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak had a negative impact on kindergarten activities. These young children, who had been compelled to stay home during lockdowns, suffered a lack of movement and loss of mobility, resulting in deteriorated physical motor skills. Lack of sufficient motor experience in early childhood can impair children’s motor and cognitive development. Balance skills are fundamental to all other motor abilities, from the most basic movements to the most complex motor skills. The purpose of this study was to implement a short-term physical activity program, which may have a direct effect on children’s fundamental balance ability. Ninety-six kindergarten children (45 boys and 51 girls), aged 4–6 years, participated in the study. Data were analyzed using three-way ANOVA and interaction analyses. The results suggest that short, focused, and dedicated balance training programs have a beneficial influence on the static balance of preschoolers and can mitigate some of the negative physical outcomes of lockdowns. In conclusion, this study indicates that a short-term physical training program had a positive effect on the motor abilities of preschoolers after COVID-19-related lockdowns. More research is needed in order to fully understand the complete impact of the worldwide health crisis and the best ways in which to address it.

A Comparison of the Effects of Short-Term Physical and Combined Multi-Modal Training on Cognitive Functions.

Physical training has beneficial effects not only on physical fitness, but also on cognitive functions. The most effective way to improve cognitive functions via physical training as well as the degree to which training effects transfer to untrained cognitive functions is still unclear, however. Here, we investigated the effects of adaptive and multi-modal short-term training interventions on cognitive training gains and transfer effects. Over a period of 12 weeks, 102 employees of a car manufacturing company (age range 20 to 61 years) received trainer-guided exercises, consisting of either two adaptive training interventions, physical (strength) training and multi-modal (motor–cognitive) training, or non-adaptive strength training (active control group). For the multi-modal intervention, the “Agility Board” was employed, a novel, multi-modal training device. Pre- and post-training, psychometric tests were conducted to measure cognitive abilities, such as perceptual speed, attention, short-term memory, working memory, inhibition, and mental rotation. In addition, motor–cognitive performance was assessed. Compared with the active control group, both training groups showed enhanced performance at posttest. While multi-modal training yielded performance improvements only in trained tasks, physical training was associated with improvements in untrained working memory updating and immediate recall tasks, suggesting transfer effects to short-term and working memory functioning. In summary, the results demonstrate the importance of adaptive difficulty settings for short-term physical training interventions, at least for the enhancement of working memory.

Effects of short-term physical training on the interleukin-15 signalling pathway and glucose tolerance in aged rats

PurposeInterleukin-15 (IL-15) is a myokine that has been proposed to modulate skeletal muscle and adipose tissue mass, as well as insulin sensitivity. However, the evidence suggesting a role for IL-15 in improving whole-body insulin sensitivity and decreasing adiposity comes mainly from studies using supraphysiological levels of this cytokine. This study examined the effect of a short-term exercise training protocol on the protein content of IL-15, it's signaling pathway, and glucose tolerance in aged rats. MethodsFourteen Wistar rats were divided into Young Sedentary (Young, n = 4); Old Sedentary (Old, n = 5); Old Exercise (Old.Exe, n = 5) groups. The animals from the exercised group were submitted to a short-term physical exercise protocol for five days. At the end of physical training and after 16 h of the last exercise session, the animals were euthanized, and tissue collection was done. ResultsPhysical exercise decreased epididymal and mesenteric fat mass and promoted positive effects on glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. Muscle IL-15 protein levels were not changed following the short-term physical exercise training with no alterations in the post-exercise IL-15–JAK/STAT signaling pathway. We found a tendency to increased HIF1α and a significant increase in its regulator, PHD2, in the skeletal muscle after exercise. ConclusionThe elderly rats submitted to short-term aerobic physical training did not present skeletal muscle alteration in the protein content of the IL-15 and IL-15-JAK/STAT signaling pathway. However, short-term aerobic physical training was able to modulate the expression of HIF1α and its regulator PHD2, suggesting an essential role of these proteins in improving post-exercise glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in elderly rats.

Short-term physical training enhances mirror system activation to action observation

ABSTRACTThe mirroring of actions is performed by a specialized system of neurons found in the sensorimotor cortex, termed the mirror neuron system. This system is considered an important mechanism that facilitates social understanding. We present a pre-registered experiment that used EEG to investigate whether short-term training via physical rehearsal or observational learning elicit distinct changes in mirror neuron activity for unfamiliar hand actions, and whether these training effects are influenced by the degree of familiarity (i.e., the frequency of action repetitions during training). Sixty adults completed a pre- and post-training EEG action observation task. Half of the participants completed 30 min of execution training (i.e., observing and performing unfamiliar hand actions), and half completed observation-only training (i.e., observing unfamiliar hand actions being performed). Post-training familiarity was manipulated by varying the number of training repetitions for each hand action (from 0 to 50 repetitions). Results revealed that sensorimotor cortex activity to the observation of hand actions increased following execution training, but did not change when training was simply observational. Moreover, the frequency of training repetitions did not modulate sensorimotor cortex activation after training, suggesting that short-term physical rehearsal enhances general processes involved in action understanding, rather than specific motor representations.

Treinamento físico em academia melhora qualidade de vida em pacientes no pós-operatório de revascularização miocárdica

Introdução: A Reabilitação Cardiovascular usualmente é realizada em âmbito ambulatorial e hospitalar e pode ser expandido para academias. Objetivos: Avaliar a qualidade de vida de cardiopatas submetidos ao treinamento físico em curto prazo supervisionado por fisioterapeutas e educadores físicos em uma academia. Métodos: Foram avaliados 10 cardiopatas de ambos os sexos, média de faixa etária de 63.1±10,10 anos. Foram submetidos ao treinamento aeróbio em esteira ou bicicleta ergométrica, em intensidade moderada e um treinamento resistido em circuito em uma academia. O treinamento foi realizado por 45 dias, 2 vezes semanais, com duração de 1 hora. A aplicação do questionário de qualidade de vida SF-36 foi realizada antes e após o treinamento. Resultados: Com relação à força, houve melhora significante após a intervenção proposta. Foram constatadas melhoras em todos os aspectos da qualidade de vida. Conclusões: O treinamento físico realizado em academia melhorou a qualidade de vida de cardiopatas em curto período de reabilitação.

Eight weeks of combined high intensity intermittent exercise normalized altered metabolic parameters in women

Short term physical training programs may improve insulin resistance and hyperglycemia. To assess the effects of eight weeks of combined exercise program on serum lipids and glycemic level in women with hyperglycemia and hypercholesterolemia. Ten healthy women, nine women with hyperglycemia, ten with hypercholesterolemia and nine with hyperglycemia/hypercholesterolemia were studied. Participants were subjected to eight weeks into a program of combined physical exercise (high intensity interval + resistance training). Fasting glycemia decreased by 12 and 14% in hyperglycemic and hyperglycemic/hypercholesterolemic participants, respectively. Serum insulin decreased in all groups in a range from 27 to 37%. HOMA IR for insulin resistance decreased similarly. A significant decrease in TC and TG was observed only in those altered baseline subjects. Eight weeks of combined physical exercise had a favorable effect on insulin resistance in this group of women.

Effect of Specific Short-Term Physical Training on Fitness Measures in Conditioned Men

Physical training programs that enhance battlefield-related fitness needs have been increasingly advocated as operational demands on the US military have increased, but few studies have evaluated program effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to compare a novel 7-week physical training program with traditional army physical fitness training in improving the selected measures of physical fitness and military task performance. One hundred and eighty subjects performed a 30-m rush wearing a fighting load, a simulated casualty recovery wearing a fighting load, a 1-repetition maximum bench press, a maximum repetition pull-up test, a medicine ball put, a vertical jump, and a T-test agility drill to establish test-retest reliability and normative reference values. One hundred thirty-three subjects were assigned by block randomization to either traditional Army physical training (TT) of calisthenics and running or a novel program (NT) of calisthenics, resistance, aerobic, speed, power, and agility training. The results indicated that between-day reliability was high (intraclass correlation coefficients [ICCs] 3,1; 0.87-0.98) for all measures except for the casualty recovery (ICC 3,1; 0.67). Reliability improved for all the measures that were averaged over 3 trials (ICC 3,3; 0.93-0.95). The NT was superior to TT in improving bench press (8 vs. 3%; p < 0.01), medicine ball put (7 vs. 1%; p < 0.01), 30-m rush times (5 vs. 1%; p < 0.01), and casualty recovery times (17 vs. -15%; p < 0.01). These findings suggest that a short-term physical training program is effective in improving strength, power, and speed among previously conditioned men. Future studies should determine if similar training programs mitigate the injury risk in this population.

Exercise-Induced Insulin-Like Growth Factor I System Concentrations after Training in Women

This study examined the effects of short-term physical training on the acute hormonal response (i.e., growth hormone, total and free insulin-like growth factor I [IGF-I], and IGF binding proteins [IGFBP]-1, IGFBP-2, and IGFBP-3) to resistance exercise (RE) in women. Forty-six women (20.3 ± 0.3 yr, mass = 64.1 ± 7.3 kg, height = 165.7 ± 1.0 cm) were randomly assigned to an endurance training (E), resistance training (R), combined training (R + E), or control (C) group for 8wk. Subjects completed a standardized bout of RE (six sets of back squats at 10 repetition maximum) before and after training. Blood samples were obtained at rest (PRE), after the third set, immediately postexercise (POST), and at 15 min and 30 min after exercise. Acute RE significantly increased (P < 0.05) serum growth hormone (mean ± SD; change from PRE to POST = +10.9 ± 7.5 μg·L-1), total IGF-I (+66.1 ± 25.4 μg·L-1), IGFBP-1 (+2.5 ± 3.1 μg·L-1), IGFBP-2 (+86.0 ± 86.8 μg·L-1), and IGFBP-3 (+0.69 ± 0.25 mg·L-1) concentrations and decreased free IGF-I concentrations (-0.14 ± 0.21 μg·L-1). After 8 wk of training, total IGF-I concentrations were significantly increased (change in POST concentrations from week 0 to week 8 = +82.5 ± 120.8 μg·L-1), and IGFBP-1 concentrations were significantly decreased (-6.7 ± 13.6 μg·L-1) during exercise in groups that participated in resistance training (R and R + E); no significant changes were seen after E or C. Participation in resistance training increased total IGF-I and reduced IGFBP-1 concentrations during acute RE, indicating exercise mode-specific adaptations in the circulating IGF-I system.

Phenotypic and functional alterations in peripheral blood monocyte subpopulations following short-term physical training (117.32)

Abstract Regular exercise can reduce low-grade systemic inflammation contributing to the prevention of chronic disease. Phenotypic and functional alterations in monocyte (MO) subpopulations are implicated in antiinflammatory mechanisms of physical training. Peripheral blood was sampled from 10 healthy males (24.8±4.3 y) before and after short-term endurance training (6-d cycling 2-h/d, 65% VO2peak). Samples were examined by multicolour immunofluorescence staining and flow cytometry. CD14 and CD16 surface markers characterized 3 distinct MO subsets: classical (CD14++CD16-), intermediate (CD14++CD16+), and nonclassical (CD14+CD16++); the latter two being potent producers of inflammatory proteins. Coexpression of toll-like receptors (TLR2/4), intracellular cytokines (TNF-α, IL-8, IL-1ra, IL-10), nuclear factor (NF)-κB, and oxidative burst (Rho123) were quantified as changes in fluorescence intensity. Total MO counts dropped after training, with significant reductions in intermediate and nonclassical subsets. TNF-α and IL-8 expression decreased in nonclassical and intermediate MO, respectively, with no change in classical. Conversely, IL-10 and IL-1ra increased in classical and intermediate, but were unchanged in nonclassical MO. TLR2/4 were upregulated on all MO, whereas, NF-κB translocation and oxidative burst were suppressed. Our data indicate short-term training modulates the distribution and functional activity of specific MO subsets, consistent with a net antiinflammatory response.

Influence of exercise mode and osteogenic index on bone biomarker responses during short-term physical training

Prescribing exercise based on intensity, frequency, and duration of loading may maximize osteogenic responses in bone, but a model of the osteogenic potential of exercise has not been established in humans. In rodents, an osteogenic index (OI) has been used to predict the osteogenic potential of exercise. The current study sought to determine whether aerobic, resistance, or combined aerobic and resistance exercise programs conducted over eight weeks and compared to a control group could produce changes in biochemical markers of bone turnover indicative of bone formation. We further sought to determine whether an OI could be calculated for each of these programs that would reflect observed biochemical changes. We collected serum biomarkers [bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP), osteocalcin, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), C-terminal telopeptide fragment of type I collagen (CTx), deoxypyridinoline (DPD), 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D), and parathyroid hormone (PTH)] in 56 women (20.3 ± 1.8 years) before, during and after eight weeks of training. We also measured bone mineral density (BMD) at regional areas of interest using DXA and pQCT. Biomarkers of bone formation (BAP and osteocalcin) increased in the Resistance and Combined groups ( p < 0.05), while biomarkers of bone resorption (TRAP and DPD) decreased and increased, respectively, after training ( p < 0.05) in all groups. Small changes in volumetric and areal BMD ( p < 0.05) were observed in the distal tibia in the Aerobic and Combined groups, respectively. Mean weekly OIs were 16.0 ± 1.9, 20.6 ± 2.2, and 36.9 ± 5.2 for the Resistance, Aerobic, and Combined groups, respectively. The calculated osteogenic potential of our programs did not correlate with the observed changes in biomarkers of bone turnover. The results of the present study demonstrate that participation in an eight week physical training program that incorporates a resistance component by previously inactive young women results in alterations in biomarkers of bone remodeling indicative of increased formation without substantial alterations in markers of resorption.

Improvements in Soldier Group Norms Following Short-Term Physical Training

Physical performance norms in Soldiers are lacking. The impact of physical training on the distribution of these norms is unknown. PURPOSE: To establish physical performance norms in Infantry Soldiers and assess the effects of physical training on their distribution. METHODS: 180 Infantry Soldiers (23.6±4.6 yr, 176.9±7.2cm; 80.0±12.1kgs) were randomized into traditional (TT) or modified (MT) training groups. Groups performed calisthenics and running (TT), or resistance, speed, and agility exercises (MT). Normative data (percentiles) were created for a 1RM bench press (BP), maximal pull-ups (PU), medicine ball put (MBP), agility drill (AD), 30-m rush (Rush) and a simulated casualty drag (CD). A repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare groups over time. RESULTS: Normative quartilesTableMean group changes by quartileTableMean AD and Rush scores improved for Q1-Q3 in both groups. PU improved in both groups for Q1, Q2, and Q4. These changes were likely due to greater percentile improvements in the MT group. CONCLUSION: A modified physical training program is superior to traditional training in producing performance gains across all ability levels.

Effects of Two Training Programs on Military Tasks and Physical Fitness in Infantry Soldiers

The effectiveness of Army physical training at improving military task performance has not been established. PURPOSE: To compare traditional Army physical training to a modified 7 wk program in improving physical performance. METHODS: 182 Infantry Soldiers were assigned to either a traditional training (TT) group or a modified training (MT) group. 135 Soldiers completed the study (TT: n=40, 22.7±3.7yr, 78.9±12.0kg, 176.1±7.6cm; MT: n=95, 23.5±5.1yr, 79.7±11.3kg, 176.6±7.3cm). Both groups trained 5 d/wk for 7 wks. The TT group performed calisthenics and running (60–90 min/d). The MT group performed core stability (15 min/d, 4 d/wk), flexibility (15 min/d, up to 5 d/wk), resistance (60 min/d, 2 d/wk) and agility/speed/power (60 min/d, 2 d/wk) exercises, and loaded marching or running (1 d/wk). Variables of interest included: sit & reach (SR), 5 kg medicine ball throw (MB), 1-RM bench press (BP), vertical jump (VJ), agility drill (AD), pull-ups (PU), 30m rushes (30M), and a 50m casualty rescue (CR). Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVAs and Tukey's Post-hoc testing (α = 0.05). RESULTS: There were no baseline group differences. Training resulted in significant improvements in CR, 30M, MB and BP for the MT group only. Time effects were observed for all measures except SR and VJ. Means ± SE reported for both groups pre- and post-training.TableCONCLUSIONS: A modified short-term physical training program positively influenced fitness and military tasks to a greater extent than traditional physical training suggesting that these new exercises should be incorporated into Army training programs. The effects were most pronounced in tasks requiring anaerobic power.

Effects of short-term physical training on the liver IGF-I in diabetic rats

To investigate the influence of short-term physical training on IGF-I concentrations in diabetic rats, male wistar rats were distributed into four groups: sedentary control, trained control, sedentary diabetic and trained diabetic. Diabetes was induced by Alloxan (32 mg/kg b.w.) and training protocol consisted of swimming 1 h/day, 5 days/week, during 4 weeks, supporting 5% b.w. At the end of this period, rats were sacrificed and blood was collected for determinations of serum glucose, insulin, albumin, IGF-I and hematocrit. Liver samples were used to determine glycogen, protein, DNA and IGF-I concentrations. Diabetes reduced insulin and IGF-I concentrations in blood and liver protein, ratio protein/DNA and IGF-I concentrations in liver and increased glycemia. Physical training reduced serum glucose and recovered hepatic glycogen stores in diabetic rats and reduced serum and liver IGF-I concentrations. In conclusion, short-term physical training improved the metabolic conditions of diabetic rats, despite of impairing liver and blood IGF-I concentrations.

Short-term physical training improves vasodilatory capacity in cardiac patients.

There have been no previous studies that clearly demonstrate the effects of training on the relation between exercise capacity and vasodilatory capacity in skeletal muscle. This study was performed to clarify the effects of short-term, moderate-intensity physical training on exercise tolerance and vasodilatory capacity in cardiac patients. We studied 21 patients after acute myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass grafting, or valve replacement. Each patient performed symptom-limited incremental exercise tests before and after a 2-week training program of moderate-intensity exercise. A cycle ergometer was used for both the training and exercise tests. Blood pressure measurement and respiratory gas analysis were continuously performed during the tests. Cardiac output was also measured using a dye-dilution method at rest and every 2 minutes during incremental exercise. Reactive hyperemic calf blood flow was measured at rest. After the training program, the subjects attained a significant decrease in systemic vessel resistance and significant increases in oxygen uptake and cardiac output at peak exercise. Changes in reactive hyperemic calf blood flow were significantly correlated with the changes in cardiac output, systemic vascular resistance, and the kinetics of oxygen uptake during warm-up exercise. By improving the peripheral vasodilatory capacity in these patients, short-term, moderate-intensity physical training was found to improve the cardiovascular adaptation not only at peak exercise, but also during the onset of exercise.

Short-term physical training improves ventilatory response to exercise after coronary arterial bypass surgery.

The issue of whether exercise training improves exercise hyperpnea in patients after coronary arterial bypass graft (CABG) surgery has not been fully explored. Effects of short-term physical training on ventilatory response and cardiac output during exercise in patients following coronary arterial bypass grafting surgery is studied. Thirty-four patients underwent exercise training for 2 weeks after the second postoperative week (Ex group); 23 stayed sedentary (Sed group). Ventilatory and cardiac output response during the cardiopulmonary exercise test was measured before and after the training period. The minute ventilation-carbon dioxide output (VE-VCO2) slope decreased from 38.9+/-8.1 to 35.1+/-6.7 (p<0.05) in the Ex group, but failed to decrease in the Sed group (39.7+/-11.1 to 41.5+/-11.4). Cardiac output during exercise at 20W and at peak exercise, and peak oxygen pulse (VO2/HR) increased significantly only in the Ex group after training. There was a correlation between improvement of the VE-VCO2 slope and peak cardiac output during the training interval (r=-0.47) in the Ex group. Short-term physical training after CABG improves ventilatory response to exercise and increases cardiac output during exercise. Improvement of cardiac output is correlated with a decreased value of the VE-VCO2 slope.

Effects of exercise on blood coagulation, fibrinolysis and platelet aggregation.

Disturbances of the haemostatic balance may result in thrombosis or bleeding tendency. There have been abundant reports on the effects of exercise on blood haemostasis, but the results reported have been conflicting and difficult to interpret. This review outlines and critically evaluates the relevant literature on the effects of short term exercise and physical training on the 3 systems of blood haemostasis i.e. blood coagulation, fibrinolysis and platelet aggregation. Short term exercise is usually associated with a significant shortening of activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and a marked increase in factor VIII (FVIII). The rise in FVIII is directly related to exercise intensity and the individuals' training status. Exercise also induces a significant increase in blood fibrinolysis which is dependent on exercise intensity, duration and training condition. The rise in blood fibrinolysis is mainly due to an increase in tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and a decrease in its main inhibitor plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) which are released from the endothelial cells of the vessel wall. Platelet count increases in exercise and this is probably due to a fresh release of platelets from the spleen, bone marrow and lungs. Studies on the effects of exercise on platelet aggregation and markers of platelet activation have produced conflicting results, and the exact effects of exercise remain as yet undetermined. It is suggested that short term exercise activates blood coagulation and enhances blood fibrinolysis and the delicate balance between clot formation and clot dissolution is maintained in normal populations. No valid conclusion could be reached regarding the actual effects of physical training on blood coagulation, fibrinolysis and platelet aggregation. This is undoubtedly due to variations in training programmes employed, populations studied, and the analytical methods used.

Quantitative ultrasonography of muscle: Detection of adaptations to training in elderly women

Objective: To develop quantitative ultrasonography in studying the adaptation of quadriceps muscle mass and composition to short-term physical training and rehabilitation in elderly women. Design: Randomized control trial. Setting: Measurements in a research laboratory and training in a fitness center and sports hall. Participants: Forty-two women, aged 76 to 78 years, with no indications against intensive physical exercise, randomly assigned to strength ( n = 16), endurance ( n = 15), and control ( n = 11) groups. Twelve subjects from the strength, 12 from the endurance, and 11 from the control group completed the study. Intervention: Supervised physical training 3 times a week for 18 weeks. Strength training: 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 10 repetitions with a load of 60% to 75% of the subjects' 1-repetition maximum. Endurance training: track walking and step aerobics at an intensity of 50% to 80% of maximum heart-rate reserve. Main Outcome Measures: Ultrasonographic measurements of the quadriceps cross-sectional area (CSA), thickness, and weighted mean grey shades of vastus lateralis (MGS vL) and femur (MGS F). Results: No significant interaction of group by time was observed in any of the outcome measures. The changes observed in CSA in the strength group correlated with those measured by computed tomography reported earlier. MGS VL decreased and MGS F increased in the strength group, suggesting a decreased proportion of fat in the muscle. Conclusions: Quantitative ultrasonography is a potentially useful tool for studying skeletal muscle in elderly women. The precision and accuracy of the method, however, should be improved to reveal the adaptation of aging muscles to short-term physical training and rehabilitation programs.

Levels of complement receptor type one (CR1, CD35) on erythrocytes, circulating immune complexes and complement C3 split products C3d and C3c are not changed by short-term physical exercise or training.

The effect of heavy short-term physical exercise on the levels of complement receptor type one (CR1, CD35) on erythrocytes, the concentrations of circulating immune complexes (IC), and the complement C3 split products C3c and C3d were examined in young healthy males. Fourteen untrained volunteers underwent a 60-min bicycle exercise test at 75% of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max). Six of the volunteers were exercised twice with an interval of at least one month. Before the second bicycle test they received oral indomethacin. With an interval of at least 1 week, 6 also went through a 60-min back-muscle exercise at up to 30% of VO2max. Blood samples were collected before and during the last few minutes of exercise as well as 2 h and 24 h afterwards. The same parameters were examined once in 29 highly trained racing cyclists. There were no consistent or significant exercise-induced changes in the levels of erythrocyte CR1, circulating IC, C3c nor C3d as measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, polyethylene glycol precipitation complement consumption method, and by intermediate gel rocket immunoelectrophoresis, respectively. Neither did these parameters differ from controls in the highly trained group. The results indicate that CR1 on erythrocytes, circulating immune complexes and complement cleavage products C3c and C3d in healthy subjects remain unaffected by short-term heavy physical activity and training.

Effects of Training on the Serum Lipid Profile in Normal Men

Cross-sectional studies have demonstrated in the past that endurance-trained persons are characterised by a less atherogenic lipid profile than their sedentary counterparts: the former have clearly higher HDL-cholesterol and lower serum triglyceride concentrations than the latter, and also their LDL-cholesterol and total cholesterol concentrations are slightly lower. In a longitudinal intervention study in previously sedentary men, the effect of moderate short term physical training on the serum lipid profile was investigated. 30 healthy male volunteers were trained for 16 weeks, 3 hours weekly. After training their physical working capacity was increased on average by 29%. This was accompanied by an increment in the HDL-cholesterol fraction of 26%; the relative increase was greater for HDL2-(+32%) than for HDL3-cholesterol(+24%). VLDL-cholesterol was reduced by 21% at the end of the training period. On average, plasma total cholesterol, total triglycerides and LDL-cholesterol were not significantly changed at the end of the training period. Negative associations were, however, found between the training-induced increase in exercise capacity and the concomitant changes in plasma triglycerides and LDL-cholesterol. In conclusion, these longitudinal observations show that short term moderate endurance training improves the serum lipid profile in previously sedentary men.