Effects of Regular Long-Term Circuit Training (Once per Week) on Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Previously Sedentary Adults

Verena Menz, Hannes Gatterer, Sachin B. Amin, Reinhard Huber and Martin Burtscher
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Verena Menz: Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria
Hannes Gatterer: Institute of Mountain Emergency Medicine, EURAC Research, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
Sachin B. Amin: Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria
Reinhard Huber: Sporttherapie Huber und Mair, Neu-Rum, 6020 Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria
Martin Burtscher: Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 20, 1-10

Abstract: The purpose of the study was (1) to investigate the effects of regular long-term circuit training (once per week) on cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in sedentary adults and (2) to compare training progress with the effects of continued exercise participation by regularly active age-matched individuals. Ten sedentary, middle-aged (51 ± 6 years) individuals (sedentary group, SG) of both sexes performed 32 weeks (1 training session/week) of supervised circuit training and 10 weeks of self-managed training. Effects were compared to an age-matched group (51 ± 8 years; n = 10) of regularly active individuals (active group, AG). CRF (expressed as peak oxygen uptake: VO 2 peak; peak power output: PPO) and systemic blood pressure (BP) during the incremental test were measured at the start and after the training intervention. CRF decreased significantly within the AG (VO 2 peak: 43.1 ± 7.3 vs. 40.3 ± 6.5 mL/min/kg, p < 0.05; PPO: 3.3 ± 0.6 vs. 3.1 ± 0.6; p < 0.05) but was maintained in the SG. In addition, significant improvements in restoration of the oxygen level in leg muscles after exercise and reduced systolic BP (180 ± 14 vs. 170 ± 17 mmHg, p = 0.01) at submaximal exercise were found within the SG. However, differences in changes from pre to post did not reach significance between groups. In contrast to the regularly active individuals, circuit training once per week over 32 weeks prevented the aging-related decline of CRF in previously sedentary subjects and reduced systolic BP during submaximal exercise, indicating improved exercise tolerance.

Keywords: body weight training; untrained individuals; maximal oxygen consumption; ageing; physical activity intervention; real-life training intervention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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