Comparison of exertional indices following moderate training in collegiateathletes

Background. To better understand the inflammatory response to two divergent training modalities: running and weight training. Methods. Experimental de sign: prospective, repeat measures, observational study of subjects over th e course of 8-10 weeks of training. Data analysis was consonant with this d esign and included a repeat measures ANOVA with multiple posthoc comparison s. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Setting: collegiate athletic training facilities, Patients: twenty-two subjects comprised the study grou p. These included both male and female collegiate athletes, ages 17-22 year s of age with a mean height of 178.6 cm, a mean weight of 77.5 kg and a mea n lean body mass of 67.2 kg. Exclusion criteria consisted of hemophilia or chronic conditions requiring anti-inflammatory medication. Interventions: t raining for runners (n=11) consisted of multiple 5-km runs throughout the c ourse of a 60-75 minute workout. For a comparable time period, weight train ers participated in multiple joint, total body strengthening workouts. Meas ures: four exertional indices were examined. These included serum levels of creatine kinase, lactate, Interleukin-6, and C-reactive protein. Assessmen ts of these markers were made immediately before and after each training se ssion. Three sessions were monitored over an 8-10 week period. Results. The data show that moderate exertion is accompanied by modest incr eases in these markers. Mean serum values did not exceed 125 U/L for serum creatine kinase, 5 mM/l for lactates, and 2.6 pg/ml for IL-6. C-reactive pr otein was sporadically detectable in weight lifters only. These increases w ere detected immediately postexercise. Each training modality produced a un ique profile for creatine kinase and IL-6, suggestive of a training effect, Conclusions. Overall, the levels for all exertional markers reported herei n are well below those reported for exhaustive exercise. As consistent exha ustive efforts can catalyze overtraining syndromes, periodic assessments of these exertional indices could help to document the appropriateness of the training stimulus.