The influence of anaerobic and aerobic exercise on glucose disposal in young male subjects

Considerable research has been performed on the effects of exercise and glucose tolerance, however, most of this work has examined aerobic exercise designs. This study examines the immediate post-exercise glucose turnover in eight male subjects exposed to a single bout of running and PRE. Both exercise protocols were designed to be of similar duration and at an intensity representing a typical exercise session. This study was conducted in an effort to offer individuals with NIDDM an alternative to the established aerobic forms of exercise for improved glucose control. Each subject completed two preliminary procedures, which consisted of a maximal graded exercise test and a session where a 1 RM was established on six different Cybex variable resistance machines. Subjects then completed a baseline oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in which eight blood samples were analyzed for glucose, insulin, hemoglobin, and hematocrit. Two exercise protocols, separated by 3 to 10 days, consisting of a 40 minute treadmill run at 75% VO2max and a 40 minute, 3 set x 10 repetition based on 75% of the1 RM, were performed and followed 45 minutes later by another OGTT. The results demonstrated that there were no apparent differences in blood glucose or insulin levels post-exercise between the exercise modes. However, the form of exercise did seem to have a varied effect on insulin production. The results of the OGTT demonstrated an explicit difference in the insulin response between the lifting and running trials, with the lifting trial being significantly higher than the resting or running trials. The increased insulin levels observed in the lifting trial may be indicative of increased secretion from the pancreas or that the secreted insulin is simply not being used. The insulin resistance observed in the lifting trial may be due to the muscles inability to respond to insulin or some other metabolic factor(s) released during exercise. Additional studies should be performed on different populations to examine the effects of PRE and running in a effort to better understand the mechanisms responsible for glucose uptake.School of Physical EducationThesis (M.S.