Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Department

Physical Education

First Advisor

Hunter S. Waldman

Second Advisor

T. Scott Lyons

Third Advisor

Eric O'Neal

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Lipid oxidation (LOx) is a relevant physiological process linked to metabolic health. Despite growing interest in resistance training (RT) as a means to influence substrate utilization LOx responses in females remain poorly characterized, with no study examining whether lower- and upper body RT elicits different LOx patterns during the recovery period following exercise. This distinction may  be relevant because lower-body exercises involves greater fat-free mass (FFM) and energy expenditure,  whereas upper-body exercises recruit less FFM, potentially influencing metabolic effects.

PURPOSE: To  determine if LOx rates after exercise differ between lower- and upper-body RT in well-trained females.

METHODS: Twenty-two females (age: 25.4±5.6 years, FFM: 44.5±4.9kg, mean relative strength: 1.1±0.2)  completed repetition-maximum (RM) tests in the barbell back squat (BS) and bench press (BP). From these,  an equated volume-load (sets×repetitions×load) was determined using 65%1RM of participants’ BS and  BP. Metabolic testing was completed before either the BS or BP, then immediately (IP), 30-, 60-, and 90-  min post-exercise.

RESULTS: No significant differences were found between BS or BP LOx rates  (p>0.05). LOx relative to FFM averaged 1.57±0.4 mg·kg⁻¹FFM·min⁻¹ across both exercises from IP to 90-  min post-exercise, representing a 45% and 65% increase from baseline in the BP and BS, respectively. At  90-min post-RT, LOx reached 1.78±0.37mg·kg⁻¹FFM·min⁻¹ (SEM=0.08) for the BS and  1.65±0.31mg·kg⁻¹FFM·min⁻¹ (SEM=0.07) for BP, with no between-condition differences (p>0.05).  Resting energy expenditure (REE) was not different between conditions (p>0.05), with a pooled average  of 1.04±0.13kcal∙min⁻¹ from IP to 90-min post-RT.

CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate that RT,  differing in FFM but not volume-load, stimulates comparable LOx rates and REE responses during the  post-exercise recovery period. These findings support versatility in exercise prescription, indicating that  RT of different muscle regions can produce similar acute metabolic outcomes.

Share

COinS