The Effect of Eight Weeks of Sprint Interval Training on Levels of Lipocalin-2, Lipid Profile, Body Composition and Some Components of Physical Fitness of Young Female Volleyball Players: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background and Objectives: Few studies have been conducted on the physiological effects of sprint interval training (SIT) on athletes. The purpose of this study was to survey the effect of eight weeks of SIT on levels of lipocalin-2, lipid profile, body composition and some components of physical fitness of young female volleyball players. Materials and Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, in Saghez city and in spring of 2018, eighteen 12-18 years young female volleyball players were randomly divided into two experiment (n=9) and control (n=9) groups. The experimental group, in addition to the routine volleyball exercises, performed the running-based anaerobic sprint test (RAST) protocol for eight weeks (three sessions per week), and the control group performed only routine volleyball exercises. Body composition indices, levels of lipocalin-2, lipid profile, speed, power, aerobic power, and anaerobic power were measured before and after the training period. To analyze the data, analysis of variance with repeated measurements test was used. Results: In the experiment group, eight weeks of SIT with RAST did not significantly change the levels of lipocalin-2, total cholesterol, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein, body weight, body fat percentage, body mass index, waist-hip ratio, speed, and power (p>0.05), but increased aerobic (p=0.001) and anaerobic power (p=0.001). Also, high density lipoprotein levels were decreased in the control group (p=0.038). Conclusion: It appears that adding SIT with RAST to the routine volleyball training program helps to improve aerobic and anaerobic power and maintain levels of high-density lipoprotein in young female volleyball players. Key words: Interval training, Lipocalin-2, Lipid profile, Body composition, Volleyball, Girls   Funding: This research was based on the MSc thesis on Sport Physiology (code 24721404961001) approved by the Islamic Azad University, Saghez Branch. Conflict of interest: None declared. Ethical approval: The research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Sports Sciences Research Institute (IR.SSRC.REC.1397.011). How to cite this article: Moradi A, Moradi F. The Effect of Eight Weeks of Sprint Interval Training on Levels of Lipocalin-2, Lipid Profile, Body Composition and Some Components of Physical Fitness of Young Female Volleyball Players: A Randomized Clinical Trial. J Rafsanjan Univ Med Sci 2019; 18 (8): 769-82. [Farsi]