Eccentric endurance exercise economically improves metabolic and inflammatory risk factors

Introduction:Exercise is a cornerstone of cardiovascular prevention. Because many individuals are not willing or not able to perform regular exercise, new methods of exercise (like eccentric exercise) are necessary. Eccentric endurance exercise is supposed to be less strenuous than concentric exercise but its effects on glucose and lipid metabolism in relation to energy expenditure are unclear.Methods:We randomly allocated 45 healthy sedentary individuals to one of two groups, each hiking upwards or downwards for 2 months, with a crossover for a further 2 months; for the opposite way, a cable car was used. The difference in altitude was 540 metres; the distance was covered between three and five times a week. Energy expenditure was assessed for each hiking period.Results:Both eccentric and concentric endurance exercise improved glucose tolerance vs. baseline (by 4.1%, p = 0.136; 6.2%, p = 0.023, respectively). Of note, adjustment for energy expenditure per exercise unit (127 ± 22 kcal/unit with eccentric ...