Effect of 16 weeks of resistance training on strength endurance in men and women

Abstract

Introduction: Although resistance training (RT) can provide numerous benefits for both men and women, morphological, neuromuscular, metabolic, physiological, and behavioral differences between sexes may influence the magnitude of training responses. Objective: To analyze the impact of 16 weeks of progressive RT on strength endurance in untrained men and women. Methods: Twenty-eight men and 31 women (18-30 years) underwent a supervised RT program that was divided into two 8-week stages, 3 times per week on nonconsecutive days. The RT program was composed of exercises for different body segments (trunk, upper and lower limbs) that were performed with three sets of 8-12 repetitions maximum (RM), in 10 and 12 exercises, in the first and second stage, respectively. Strength endurance was assessed in 3 exercises (bench press, squat, and arm curl) and in a combination of these exercises through a protocol composed of 4 sets performed to failure with 80% of 1-RM on the baseline, after 8 and 16 weeks of RT. Results: Group vs. time interactions (p <0.05) were found for bench press (men = +28.3% vs. women = +32.1%), squat (men = +13.5% vs. women = +32.7%), and arm curl (men = +20.2% vs. women = +24.4%) exercises, as well as in the set of all 3 exercises (men = +18.4% vs. women = +31.2%). Conclusion: Our results suggest that 16 weeks of RT can improve strength endurance in both men and women, although higher gains are achieved by women. Level of evidence II; Therapeutic study-Investigating treatment results.