Traditional and pyramidal resistance training systems improve muscle quality and metabolic biomarkers in older women: A randomized crossover study.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of RT performed in a pyramid (PR) and traditional (TD) straight set training system on muscle quality and metabolic biomarkers in older women. Twenty-five physically independent older women (67.6 ± 5.1 years, 65.9 ± 11.1 kg, 154.7 ± 5.8 cm) performed a RT program in TD and PR training systems in a balanced crossover design. Measurements of muscle quality, serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), glucose (GLU), total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), and triglycerides (TG) were obtained at different moments. The TD program consisted of 3 sets of 8–12 repetitions maximum (RM) with a constant weight for the 3 sets, whereas the PR training consisted of 3 sets of 12/10/8 RM with incremental weight for each set. The training was performed in 2 phases of 8 weeks each, with a 12-week washout period between phases. Significant ( P < 0.05) improvements were observed in both groups for muscle quality (TD = + 8.6% vs. PR = + 6.8%), GLU (TD = − 4.5% vs. PR = − 1.9%), TG (TD = − 18.0% vs. PR = − 11.7%), HDL-C (TD = + 10.6 vs. PR = + 7.8%), LDL-C (TD = − 23.3% vs. PR = − 21.0%), and CRP (TD = − 19.4% vs. PR = − 14.3%) with no differences between training systems. These results suggest that RT improves muscle quality and metabolic biomarkers of older women independently of the training system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]