The Effect of Resistance Training with and without Blood Flow Restriction on Serum Concentration of CAF, P3NP and Muscular Function in Elderly Women

The elderly, despite their need to resistance training, usually abstain from these types of training especially at high intensities. One of the alternative methods is resistance training with blood flow restriction. Therefore, the present study aimed at investigating the effect of resistance training with and without blood flow restriction on muscle strength, muscle endurance and serum concentrations of CAF and P3NP in elderly women. 40 elderly women (mean age of 62±3 years) were selected for this study. Then, they were randomly divided into four equal groups (n=10 for each group): resistance training with blood flow restriction (4 sets of 30,15,15,15 repetitions, 20–30% 1RM), resistance training without blood flow restriction (4 sets of 30,15,15,15 repetitions, 20–30% 1RM), traditional training (4 sets of 8-12 repetitions, 80% 1RM), and control. Blood samples and tests were taken before and after 12 weeks of training. ANOVA with repeated measures was used to assess the effects of training. Lower and upper extremity muscle strength and endurance significantly increased in three training groups compared with the control group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference among three training groups (P>0.05). Also, none of the training protocols had a significant effect on plasma levels of CAF (P=0.94) and P3NP (P=0.94). Therefore, no significant difference was observed among the three training groups in improving the effects of resistance training so it can be asserted that low intensity resistance training with and without blood flow restriction, similar to traditional training, resulted in desirable changes in physical factors of the elderly women.