Source
Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain. juan.colado@uv.es
Abstract
To investigate effects of 24 weeks of resistance training with aquatic resistance devices or elastic bands (EB) on markers of cardiovascular health and physical capacity. Forty-six healthy, sedentary postmenopausal women participated. The groups were aquatic exercise (AE; n = 15), EB (n = 21), and control (n = 10). Venous blood chemistry included cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, and apolipoprotein B. Physical capacity was assessed by the sit-and-reach, knee push-up, 60-s squat, and abdominal crunch tests. Both AE and EB, respectively, showed a significant (P <or= 0.05) decrease in body fat (14.56, 11.97%) and diastolic blood pressure (8.03, 5.88%), and a significant increase in fat-free mass (2.88, 1.22%), sit-and-reach (27.94, 44.2%), knee push-ups (84.74, 51.59%), and 60-s squats (65.76, 46.04%). AE also showed a significant increase in abdominal crunches (28.11%). Aquatic resistance training can offer significant physiological benefits in health and performance that are comparable to those obtained from EB in this population.