Absence of functional left ventricular remodelling with resistance exercise training – A longitudinal study in men

Previous longitudinal studies suggest that left ventricular (LV) structure is unaltered with resistance exercise training (RT) in young men. However, evidence from aerobic exercise training suggests that early changes in functional LV wall mechanics may occur prior to and independently of changes in LV size, although short-term changes in LV mechanics and structural remodelling in response to RT protocols have not been reported. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of RT on LV mechanics in healthy men performing two different time-under-tension protocols. Forty recreationally-trained men (age: 23±3 years) were randomized into 12 weeks of whole-body higher-repetition RT (20-25 repetitions/set to failure at ~30-50% 1RM; n=13), lower-repetition RT (8-12 repetitions/set to failure at ~75-90% 1RM; n=13), or an active control period (n=14). Speckle tracking echocardiography was performed at baseline and following the intervention period. Neither RT program altered standard measures of...