ORLANDO, FLA. — Pure weight training can markedly improve aerobic fitness, Erika Baum, M.D., reported at Wonca 2004, the conference of the World Organization of Family Doctors.
A 6-month structured Nautilus weight-lifting program resulted in improvements in cardiocirculatory fitness to a degree usually considered obtainable only through endurance exercises such as running, bicycling, and swimming, said Dr. Baum, a family physician at Philipps University, Marburg, Germany.
“This opens up new possibilities for cardiopulmonary-oriented exercise besides the traditional stamina sports,” she noted.
Additional exercise options are desirable because some patients simply don't care for endurance exercise, which does not do much to improve muscular strength and stabilization, the physician added.
Dr. Baum reported on 31 healthy but physically unfit 20- to 45-year-olds, including 8 women, who completed a Nautilus weight-training program involving two or three 30- to 40-minute sessions per week for 6 months. The original cohort consisted of 34 subjects, but 3 dropped out.
Aerobic capacity as assessed on a graded treadmill exercise test improved by 33% over the course of 6 months from a mean baseline of 55,475 watt-seconds.
Women improved from a baseline of 47,253 watt-seconds to 62,822 watt-seconds, while endurance performance in men increased from 58,335 to 77,741 watt-seconds.
Meanwhile, mean body weight declined from 77.8 to 67.7 kg. Resting heart rate dropped from a baseline of 68.5 beats/min to 65.6 beats/min. Heart rate measured 3 minutes after stopping a maximal exercise test declined from a baseline of 108.7 to 103.1 beats/min following 6 months of training, with a larger decrease seen in women than men.
Lactic acid concentration at maximum workload remained stable over time.