The effect of an 8-week combined aerobic and suspension training programme on physical, performance, cardiovascular, and metabolic characteristics of overweight and obese inactive individuals.

Abstract

Title: The effect of an 8-week combined aerobic and suspension training programme on physical, performance, cardiovascular, and metabolic characteristics of overweight and obese inactive individuals. Background: Overweight and obesity are serious global problems with 1.9 billion adults classified as overweight or obese in 2016 (World Health Organization, 2017). They are complex conditions and are associated with severe physical and metabolic health implications including cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes mellitus and premature mortality. In order to combat overweight and obesity and reduce the risk of associated non-communicable diseases there is a need to develop effective exercise interventions. Aerobic training and suspension training have been shown to be effective in treating obesity. However, no previous research has investigated the combination of aerobic and suspension training in one intervention. Therefore the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an 8-week combined aerobic and suspension training programme on physical, performance, cardiovascular, and metabolic characteristics, in overweight and obese inactive individuals. Methods: Eighteen (N = 2 male, N = 16 female) untrained, overweight and obese participants (age: 37 ± 11 yr, BMI: 30.3 ± 5.8 kg/m2) participated in the study. Baseline physical (height, weight, percentage body fat (%BF) and body circumferences), performance (muscular strength, 20m sprint, timed up and go, plank time trial, and VO2max), cardiovascular (high density lipoprotein cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglycerides), and metabolic measurements (fasting blood glucose, and fasting insulin) were measured. The novel biomarker, myostatin was also recorded. An 8-week exercise intervention was then completed. Two 60min aerobic sessions, involving walking/jogging at intensities of 65-80% VO2max, and two 60min suspension training sessions, involving a circuit of 10 exercises, performed 4 times with a 45s:15s work to rest ratio, were completed weekly. All baseline tests were repeated immediately following the 8-week intervention. Results: In addition to significant improvements in BMI, body weight and %BF following the intervention, significant improvements were observed in all performance measures. There were also significant improvements in all cardiovascular and metabolic health markers except fasting insulin. Improvements in percentage body fat and 20m sprint were significantly correlated with fasted blood glucose. In addition, regression analysis indicated that improvements in body composition and performance measures explained the improvements in cardiovascular and metabolic health. Conclusion: The novel aerobic and suspension training intervention was effective at improving physical, performance, cardiovascular, and metabolic characteristics of overweight and obese sedentary individuals. It is possible that the novel combination of the two exercise modalities in one intervention elicits improvements across a wider spectrum of physical, performance, and cardiovascular and metabolic factors compared to interventions involving just one training mode. Such novel training interventions have the potential to improve metabolic and cardiovascular health and reduce the incidence of overweight and obesity.