THE EFFECTS OF AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC EXERCISE CONDITIONING ON RESTINGMETABOLIC-RATE AND THE THERMAL EFFECT OF A MEAL

This study examined resting metabolic rate (RMR) and thermic effect of a meal (TEM) among athletes who had participated in long-term anaerob ic or aerobic exercise. Nine collegiate wrestlers were matched for age , weight, and fat-free weight with 9 collegiate swimmers. Preliminary testing included maximal. oxygen consumption, maximal anaerobic capaci ty (MAnC) for both the arms and the legs, and percent body fat. On two separate occasions, RMR and TEM were measured using indirect calorime try. VO(2)max was significantly higher in the swimmers while MAnC was significantly higher in the wrestlers for both the arms and the legs. RMR adjusted for fat-free weight was not significantly different betwe en groups. The differences in total and percentage of TEM between the groups were not statistically significant, and there were no differenc es in baseline thyroid hormones. These data suggest that despite signi ficant differences in VO(2)max and WAnT values following long-term aer obic and anaerobic exercise training, resting energy expenditure does not differ between these college athletes.