For females, the fifth decade of life is associated with physiological changes that increase health risk. Changes associated with menopause are considered aggravating factors for developing metabolic syndrome. Due to the hormonal adjustments and associated body composition shifts, it would seem that exercise may be a viable tool to combat health risks that increase during this part of the life cycle. Investigators wanted to analyze the effects of resistance training on metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women and randomly assigned them to either a resistance training protocol or a control group. Those participating in the resistance training protocol performed ten exercises, three times per week using a linear 3x8-10RM with weekly increases in load. Investigators tracked markers of metabolic syndrome including high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, waist circumference, blood pressure, strength, and body composition. Following 16 weeks of resistance exercise the treatment group demonstrated a significant decrease of metabolic syndrome markers as a whole. They also experienced improvements in fasting blood glucose, significant improvements in lean body mass, a reduction of body fat percentage and noticeable increases in muscle strength measured by leg press and bench press tests. Researchers concluded that resistance training performed three times a week may be an effective tool in managing metabolic syndrome with concomitant improvements for fasting blood glucose, body composition, and muscle strength in postmenopausal women. (Clinical Intervention in Aging, 2013)
Posted on: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 06:58:38 +0000
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