Effectiveness of an Upper and Lower Limb Resistance Training Program on Body Composition, Nerve Conduction Velocity, and Cardiac Autonomic Nervous Activity in University Athletes

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of an 8-wk resistance training program of the upper and lower limb muscles on body composition, nerve conduction velocity, and cardiac autonomic nervous activity in Burapha University athletes. A randomized pretest-posttest study was conducted in 60 athletes at Burapha University aged 18 to 22 yrs. Subjects were randomized into a control group (CT, n = 20), a high-intensity interval training group (HII, n = 20), and an upper and lower limb resistance training group (ULLR, n = 20). Subjects in the HII and ULLR training groups engaged in exercise training for 30 min·d-1 , 3 d·wk-1 for 8 wks. Before and after the intervention, the following variables were measured in all groups: body composition, nerve conduction velocity, and cardiac autonomic nervous activity. There were significant increases in fat-free mass, protein mass, and water mass in the ULLR training group (P