High-Intensity Single-Leg Cycling Improves Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor Profile

Introduction Regular exercise can reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease through risk factor modification, with high-intensity exercise and more recently small muscle mass training providing alternatives to moderate-intensity exercise. Methods This study randomly assigned 53 healthy middle-age adults (age, 62 +/- 6 yr) to complete 24 sessions (8 wk; 3 d center dot wk(-1)) of exercise training, using either high-intensity double-leg cycling (n = 17; HITDL), high-intensity single-leg cycling (n = 18; HITSL), or moderate-intensity double-leg cycling (n = 18; MCTDL). Biomarkers of cardiovascular risk (total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-c, LDL-c, apo-B48, and glucose), anthropometry measures (body mass, body mass index, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio), resting blood pressure, and aerobic capacity were assessed pre- and postintervention. Results Total work completed was greater (P < 0.01) in MCTDL (5938 +/- 1462 kJ) compared with the HITDL (3462 +/- 1063 kJ) and HITSL (4423 +/- 1875 kJ). Pre- to posttraining differences were observed for waist-to-hip ratio (0.84 +/- 0.09 vs 0.83 +/- 0.09; P < 0.01), resting systolic blood pressure (129 +/- 11 vs 124 +/- 12 mm Hg; P < 0.01), total cholesterol (5.87 +/- 1.17 vs 5.55 +/- 0.98 mmol center dot L-1; P < 0.01), and LDL-c (3.70 +/- 1.04 vs 3.44 +/- 0.84 mmol center dot L-1; P < 0.01), with no differences between conditions. In addition, aerobic capacity increased after training (22.3 +/- 6.4 vs 24.9 +/- 7.6 mL center dot kg(-1)center dot min(-1); P < 0.01), with no differences between conditions. Conclusion These findings suggest that all three modes of exercise can be prescribed to achieve cardiovascular risk reduction in an aging population.