Time-Course Changes of Oxidative Stress Response to High-Intensity Discontinuous Training versus Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training in Masters Runners

Beneficial systemic effects of regular physical exercise have been demonstrated to reduce risks of a number of age-related disorders. Antioxidant capacity adaptations are amongst these fundamental changes in response to exercise training. However, it has been claimed that acute physical exercise performed at high intensity (>60% of maximal oxygen uptake) may result in oxidative stress, due to reactive oxygen species being generated excessively by enhanced oxygen consumption. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of high-intensity discontinuous training (HIDT), characterized by repeated variations of intensity and changes of redox potential, on oxidative damage. Twenty long-distance masters runners (age 47.8 +/- 7.8 yr) on the basis of the individual values of gas exchange threshold were assigned to a different 8-weeks training program: continuous moderate-intensity training (MOD, n = 10) or HIDT (n = 10). In both groups before (PRE) and after (POST) training we examined the following oxidative damage markers: thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) as marker of lipid peroxidation; protein carbonyls (PC) as marker of protein oxidation; 8-hydroxy-2-deoxy-guanosine (8-OH-dG) as a biomarker of DNA base modifications; and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) as indicator of the overall antioxidant system. Training induced a significant (p<0.05) decrease in resting plasma TBARS concentration in both MOD (7.53 +/- 0.30 and 6.46 +/- 0.27 mu M, PRE and POST respectively) and HIDT (7.21 +/- 0.32 and 5.85 +/- 0.46 mu M, PRE and POST respectively). Resting urinary 8-OH-dG levels were significantly decreased in both MOD (5.50 +/- 0.66 and 4.16 +/- 0.40 ng mg(-1) creatinine, PRE and POST respectively) and HIDT (4.52 +/- 0.50 and 3.18 +/- 0.34 ng mg(-1) creatinine, PRE and POST respectively). Training both in MOD and HIDT did not significantly modify plasma levels of PC. Resting plasma TAC was reduced in MOD while no significant changes were observed in HIDT. In conclusion, these results suggest that in masters runners high-intensity discontinuous does not cause higher level of exercise-induced oxidative stress than continuous moderate-intensity training, inducing similar beneficial effects on redox homeostasis.