The Effect of Body Part-dependent Resistance Training on Lipid Profiles and Hormonal Levels in Young Males

Background. The impact of movement pattern of resistance training on some factors related to cardiovascular diseases is not clear. Objectives. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 8 week different resistance training patterns on lipid profile and hormonal responses in young males. Methods. Forty untrained students in 23.8&plusmn;2.66 average years old and weight of 67.43&plusmn;4.96 kg were randomly selected, who participated volunteering in this investigation. They were randomly divided into practice groups including upper-body, lower-body, and compound for 3 sessions during 8 weeks (%60 to %80 of a maximum repetition) (control n=10). In order to assess lipid profile and hormone concentration, body composition and blood samples of subjects were measured in similar conditions in three stages: pre-test, end of the 4th week, and end of the 8th week. Results. fat percentage (P<0.002) had a significant reduction and TG (P<0.002), HDL (P<0.001), and testosterone (P<0.002) had significant increases compared to the pretest in upper-body group. In lower-body group, however, a significant reduction in fat percentage (P<0.006) was observed, and HDL (P<0.001), VLDL (P<0.002), and testosterone (P<0.000) values had significant increases compared to the pretest. there was a significantly increase after 8 weeks in BMI (P=0.006), TG (P<0.030), and muscle mass (P<0.007), and a significant reduction in cortisol (P<0.016) compared to the pretest after a four-week exercise in compound group. Conclusion. It seems that upper-body and lower-body resistance training optimal methods make desirable changes in some cardiovascular risk factors, for example reduction in fat percentage and increase in HDL, the facts which could leads about prevention of cardiovascular diseases in untrained individuals.