Acute and Chronic Effects of Strength Training on Plasma Levels of Adipokines in Man

Adipose tissue is specialized cells that produce and release adipokines. Exercise may modulate adipokine production in adipocytes. The aim of this longitudinal study was to evaluate the acute and chronic effects of strength training (ST) on plasma levels of adiponectin, leptin, and resistin. Twelve untrained young male participants (23.42 +/- 2.67 years) were selected. The training protocol consisted of 3 exercises, with 3 sets of 65 % of 1RM (one-repetition maximum) with pause of 90 s between sets with duration of 5 s/repetition (2 s conc/3 s ecc), 3 times a week for 10 weeks. Blood was collected at four time points: before and after the first ST session and before and after the last ST session. The comparisons between adipokine levels before and after the same training session showed acute changes, while the comparisons between levels before or after the first session versus before or after the last session revealed chronic alterations. ST increased adiponectin levels after the first exercise session in comparison to levels before this session [50 952 (46 568-51 894) pg/mL vs. 52 981 (49 901-54 467) pg/mL, p = 0.019]. Similar differences were observed for resistin levels, which were higher after the last session compared to before [4 214.4 (+/- 829) pg/mL vs. pre-S30 2 251.3 (+/- 462.2) pg/mL, p = 0.0008] and in the comparison between after the last and after the first ST sessions [4 214.4 (+/- 829.0) pg/mL vs. 1 563.7 (+/- 284.8) pg/mL, p = 0.004]. Leptin levels acutely changed in the last training session. ST produced acute and chronic changes in plasma adipokines.

Automated summary

Adipose tissue produces and releases adipokines, and exercise can modulate adipokine production in adipocytes. The aim of this longitudinal study was to evaluate the acute and chronic effects of strength training on plasma levels of adiponectin, leptin, and resistin. The results showed that strength training acutely and chronically affected the levels of adipokines in the blood.