Hormone responses to an acute bout of low intensity blood flow restricted resistance exercise in college-aged females

Eonho Kim, Lee D. Gregg, Daeyeol Kim, Vanessa D. Sherk, Michael G. Bemben, Debra A. Bemben

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the acute hormone response to exercise differed between low intensity blood flow restricted resistance exercise and traditional highintensity resistance exercise in college-aged women. A total of 13 healthy women (aged 18-25 yrs), who were taking oral contraceptives, volunteered for this randomized crossover study. Subjects performed a session of low intensity blood flow restricted resistance exercise (BFR) (20% of 1-RM, 1 set 30 reps, 2 sets 15 reps) and a session of traditional high intensity resistance exercise without blood flow restriction (HI) (3 sets of 10 repetitions at 80% of 1-RM) on separate days. Fasting serum cortisol and growth hormone (GH) and blood lactate responses were measured in the morning pre and post exercise sessions. GH (Change: HI: 6.34 ± 1.72; BFR: 4.22 ± 1.40 ng·mL-1) and cortisol (Change: HI: 4.46 ± 1.53; BFR: 8.10 ± 2.30 ug·dL-1) significantly (p < 0.05) increased immediately post exercise for both protocols compared to baseline and there were no significant differences between the protocols for these responses. In contrast, blood lactate levels (HI: 7.35 ± 0.45; BFR: 4.02 ± 0.33 mmol·L-1) and ratings of perceived exertion were significantly (p < 0.01) higher for the HI protocol. In conclusion, acute BFR restricted resistance exercise stimulated similar increases in anabolic and catabolic hormone responses in young women.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)91-96
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Sports Science and Medicine
Volume13
Issue number1
StatePublished - Mar 2014

Keywords

  • Blood flow restriction
  • Cortisol
  • Growth hormone

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