Effects of two types of physical training programs (resistance vs. aerobic) on blood lipid profile in a group of young adults with hyperlipidemia

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the effects of two types of physical training programs (resistance training vs. aerobic training) on blood lipid profile in a group of young adults with hyperlipidemia (having at least one high abnormality in blood lipid profile). Subjects were randomly assigned to a resistance training group (RTG), aerobic training group (ATG) and control group (CG). 12 young adults (7 men and 5 women) whose ages range between 18 and 38 participated in this study. The training program duration was 8 weeks for both experimental groups. Both experimental groups (RTG and ATG) performed incremental training of two sessions per week for the period of 8 weeks. Blood lipid profile (Total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglycerides (TG)), anthropometric characteristics and physical performance variables were evaluated before and after the intervention. At the end-point of this experiment, LDL-C decreased in the RTG while TC and LDL-C decreased in the ATG. In contrast, blood lipid profile remained unchanged in the CG. Among the three groups, the variations in LDL-C were significantly greater in ATG compared to the two other groups (RTG and CG). In conclusion, the present study suggests that aerobic training is more effective than resistance training to decrease LDL-C levels in young adults with hyperlipidemia.