The effects of different rest interval durations between resistance exercise sets on gene expression of CGRP and IGF-1 of muscle in male wistar rats

Determining the best rest interval durations between resistance exercise sets for adaptation is very important. This study investigated the effect of different rest intervals duration between resistance exercise (RE) sets on the gene expression of CGRP and IGF-1. Forty two male Wistar rats were randomly divided in to 7 groups. The resistance exercise included one session of climbing on one meter ladder with 26 steps. Exercise included 4 sets of 5 repetitions with an overload of 150 percent of the rat's body weight and 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 seconds rest intervals. The qRT-PCR technique was used to evaluate the gene expression of CGRP and IGF-1. The gene expression of CGRP in soleus muscles following RE with rest intervals of 30 (P=0.001), 60 (P=0.001) and 90 seconds (P=0.001) were significantly lower than 120, 150 and 180 seconds. However, there were no significant differences in the gene expression of IGF-1 among all groups (P=0.12). Based on our results, it seems that these rest interval domains can be addressed as a cut point of gene expression for the strength and hypertrophy developing process at the cellular level.