The Effect of High-Intensity Circuit Training Versus Traditional Strength Training on Physiological and Psychological Responses in Healthy, Recreationally Active Women

Abstract

Strength training (ST) is touted as a pillar for health improvement as well as chronic disease prevention and management. In addition to directly increasing muscle mass and strength, it also enhances movement control, improves functional abilities, increases bone mineral density, and reverses aging factors. Further, it is associated with reduced risk of developing numerous physical and mental health problems, including but not limited to cardiometabolic health complications, obesity, sarcopenia, depressive symptoms, and psychological distress. Despite the myriad of health benefits, participation rates for women have remained low, with only roughly 1 in 4 women regularly engaging in ST, and there is a dearth of research examining the impact of different training styles on women. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to investigate women’s perceptions of and barriers to ST as well as compare two popular training modalities amongst women. First, a survey was conducted with the purposes of determining if 1) ST preferences and practices differed between resistance trained versus recreationally trained women, and 2) perceived benefits and barriers to ST were different between resistance trained, non-resistance trained, and recreationally trained women. Over 2,700 responses were analyzed, and the main findings were: resistance trained women expressed greater preference for instruction and planning, greater perceived ability to perform exercises, and stronger routine compared to recreationally trained women; resistance trained women scored highest across all four perceived benefit factors (social, psychological, body image, and health) and lowest across all four perceived barrier factors (time-effort, physical, social, and specific); and time-effort was the highest reported barrier for both recreationally trained and non-resistance trained women. Following this, a short-term crossover study was conducted to compare acute physiological and psychological outcomes between high-intensity circuit training (HICT) and traditional strength training (TS) in resistance-trained women. A total of 26 women participated, and the main finding was that HICT had greater blood lactate, average and max heart rate, session rating of perceived exertion, and state anxiety compared to TS. Lastly, an 8-week longitudinal training study was implemented to investigate differences in strength and body composition as well as compare the psychological impact between HICT and TS. Interestingly, both HICT and TS were equally effective in increasing strength and lean body mass and decreasing body fat in trained women when sets were terminated close to failure, but HICT was able to complete the same amount of work in less time and thus had higher training density. In terms of psychological impact, both groups led to improvements in perceived physical and mental health, with strong social environment cited as positively impacting overall enjoyment and adherence and emphasis on body functionality improving participants’ body image struggles. Personal preference and time constraints were recommended as variables to consider when choosing training modality. Further research is needed to better understand perceptions of ST and the impacts of different training styles on women in order to improve adherence rates in the long run.