comparison of acute hormonal responses to high and low-intensity resistance exercise with blood flow restriction in young wrestlers

Background: the traditional resistance training is the most effective way known to increase muscle mass. however, high-intensity resistance training may be difficult for some individuals and specific groups. in addition, most people are not encouraged to engage in high-intensity resistance training. therefore, an alternative intervention is needed to solve this problem. objectives: the aim of this study was to compare the acute hormonal responses to high and low-intensity resistance exercise with blood flow restriction in young wrestlers. methods: thirty young wrestlers (age: 16.51 ± 2.1 years, weight: 53.23 ± 7.13 kg, height: 165.14 ± 8.42 cm, body mass index (bmi): 18.64 ± 1.35 kg/m ) participated in a quasi-experimental research. the subjects were randomly divided into three groups of resistance training: low-intensity (li), high-intensity (hi), and low-intensity with blood flow restriction (li-bfr). the training protocol included three exercises: leg extension, arm curl, and bench press. blood samples were collected before and 30 minutes after the training sessions. results: the results showed that the creatine kinase level in the hi group, as well as the cortisol level in the hi and li-bfr groups, in- creased significantly after resistance training (p < 0.05). in addition, testosterone/cortisol ratio decreased significantly in all groups (p < 0.05). however, testosterone levels did not change significantly in any groups (p > 0.05). conclusions: based on the results of the present study, it can be concluded that blood flow restriction training with the same an- abolic effects, lower muscle damage index, less fatigue, and lower intensity is a better choice for training compared to high-intensity resistance training.