Acute response of serum cortisol to different intensities of resisted exercise in the elderly

Abstract

Cortisol has a main role in stress response and high stress can affect the psychological and physical performance in the elderly. To determine the acute response of serum cortisol to different intensities of resisted exercise in the elderly. A total of 60 elderly patients from both sexes (60–70 years) were equally and randomly assigned to three resistive training bouts: low-intensity (group A, 30% of 1RM), moderate-intensity (group B, 50% of 1RM), and high-intensity (group C, 80% of 1RM) with a 90–120 s rest period between sets. Blood samples that were analyzed included serum cortisol hormone before and 15 min postintervention. There was a statistically significant decrease in serum cortisol level in groups A and B at postintervention when compared with the preintervention value, while group C showed an insignificant difference. In a sample of elderly patients undergoing three bouts of different intensities of resisted exercise, a low to moderate resisted exercise was superior to high intensity in decreasing the serum cortisol and consequently less stress post-exercise.