Improvement of Oxidative Stress in Older Women Is Dependent on Resistance Training Volume: Active Aging Longitudinal Study

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of resistance training (RT) performed with a higher versus lower training volume on oxidative stress (OS) biomarkers in older women. Thirty-eight older women (≥60 years) were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups: a group that performed 1 set per exercise (low volume [LV], n = 18) or 3 sets per exercise (high volume [HV], n = 20). The whole-body RT consisted of a 12-week RT program involving 8 exercises performed with sets of 10-15 repetitions maximum, 3 days per week. Advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP), total radical-trapping antioxidant parameter (TRAP), and ferrous oxidation-xylenol orange (FOX) were used as OS biomarkers. The composite Z-score of the percentage changes from pre-to posttraining of OS biomarkers according to groups was calculated. A significant main effect of time (p < 0.05) was found for AOPP (LV =-7.3% vs. HV =-12.2%) and TRAP (LV = +1.5% vs. HV = +15.5%) concentrations, without a statistical difference between the groups (p > 0.05). A significant group vs. time interaction (p < 0.001) was revealed for FOX (LV = +6.4% vs. HV =-8.9%). The overall analysis indicated higher positive changes for HV than LV (composed Z-score: HV = 0.41 ± 1.22 vs. LV =-0.37 ± 1.03; p < 0.05). Our results suggest that a greater volume of RT seems to promote superior improvements on OS biomarkers in older women.