Twelve-week combined resistance and aerobic training confers greater benefits than aerobic training alone in nondialysis CKD

There is a growing consensus that patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) should engage in regular exercise, but there is a lack of formal guidelines. In this report, we determined whether combined aerobic and resistance exercise would elicit superior physiological gains, in particular muscular strength, compared with aerobic training alone in nondialysis CKD. Nondialysis patients with CKD stages 3b-5 were randomly allocated to aerobic exercise {AE, n = 21; 9 men; median age 63 [interquartile range (IQR) 58-71] yr; median estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 24 (IQR 20-30) m.min(-1) .1.73 m(-2)} or combined exercise [CE, n = 20, 9 men, median age 63 (IQR 51-69) yr, median eGFR 27 (IQR 22-32) ml.min(-1).1.73 m(-2)], preceded by a 6-wk run-in control period. Patients then underwent 12 wk of supervised AE (treadmill, rowing, or cycling exercise) or CE training (as AE plus leg extension and leg press exercise) performed three times per week. Outcome assessments of knee extensor muscle strength, quadriceps muscle volume, exercise capacity, and central hemodynamics were performed at baseline, following the 6-wk control period, and at the end of the intervention. AE and CE resulted in significant increases in knee extensor strength of 16 +/- 19% (mean +/- SD; P = 0.001) and 48 +/- 37% (P < 0.001), respectively, which were greater after CE (P = 0.02). AE and CE resulted in 5 +/- 7% (P +/- 0.04) and 9 +/- 7% (P < 0.001) increases in quadriceps volume, respectively (P < 0.001), which were greater after CE (P = 0.01). Both AE and CE increased distance walked in the incremental shuttle walk test [28 +/- 44 m (P = 0.01) and 32 +/- 45 m (P = 0.01), respectively]. In nondialysis CKD, the addition of resistance exercise to aerobic exercise confers greater increases in muscle mass and strength than aerobic exercise alone.