a bout of resistance exercise reduces the postprandial glucose elevation

Comment Another benefit for resistance exercise - it makes you less insulin resistant. That is a good thing by the way.



Effect of a Single Bout of Resistance Exercise on Postprandial Glucose and Insulin Response the Next Day in Healthy, Strength-Trained Men

Eivind Andersen and Arne T. Høstmark

Department of Sport Medicine, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway
Arne T. Høstmark

Section for Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Department of General Practice & Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway

ABSTRACT

Andersen, E., and A.T. Høstmark. Effect of a single bout of resistance exercise on postprandial glucose and insulin response the next day in healthy, strength-trained men. J. Strength Cond. Res. 21(2):487–491. 2007.—Postprandial blood glucose and insulin levels are both risk factors for developing obesity, type-2 diabetes, and coronary heart diseases. To date, research has shown that a single bout of moderate- to high-intensity aerobic exercise performed 24 hours before a carbohydrate ingestion has a positive effect on the postprandial glucose and insulin response, but the reports on the effect of a single bout of resistance exercise are scarce. The purpose of this study was to examine if a bout of resistance exercise performed 14 hours before ingestion of a carbohydrate-rich meal might reduce the postprandial increment in blood glucose and plasma insulin concentration. Ten healthy, strength-trained, young men participated in a meal and resistance exercise experiment. All subjects ingested a carbohydrate-rich meal (1 g carbohydrate per kg body weight) after fasting for 12 hours either with no exercise the preceding 3 days or after a bout of resistance exercise performed 14 hours earlier. Blood glucose and plasma insulin were measured every 15 and 30 minutes, respectively, for 2 hours. The postprandial blood glucose response measured as the peak value, the slope (from time 0 to peak value), and the incremental area under the curve 0–60 min (IAUC0–60min) was significantly (p 0.05) reduced 14 hours after the resistance exercise compared with the control experiment (no exercise). However, total IAUC was not significantly influenced by a bout of previous resistance exercise. Also, the plasma insulin response did not differ between the 2 experiments. From the present study it would appear that a bout of resistance exercise can reduce the postprandial glucose elevation for at least 14 hours.