Effect of resistance training on cardiorespiratory endurance and coronary artery disease risk.

Abstract

Coronary artery disease (CAD) represents a major medical problem in Western society and is a considerable cause of morbidity and mortality in South Africa. In recent years, epidemiologists have made extensive efforts to define the most common risk factors for CAD and propose preventative measures to limit the spread of the disease. Despite the increasing realisation of the importance of resistance training, the literature has focused primarily on aerobic modes of exercise and their effects on risk for CAD. The aim of this study was to determine whether resistance training could alter cardio-respiratory endurance (VO2max), and thus reduce CAD risk. A quantitative, experimental, comparative research design incorporating a pre-test, a treatment period and a post-test was used. Twenty-eight untrained male volunteers were age matched (mean age: 28 years and seven months) and randomly assigned to either a nonexercising control group (n = 15) or a resistance-training group (n = 13). The study demonstrated no statistically significant change in VO2max for the control group from their pre-test (25.097 ml/kg/min) to their post-test (23.778 ml/kg/min) (p = 0.201). However, resistance training significantly (p