Effect of Metabolic Stress to High-Load Exercise on Muscle Damage, Inflammatory and Hormonal Responses

To assess the impact of metabolic stress on blood lactate, muscle damage, inflammatory and hormonal responses following a high-load (70% maximum) strength training session, we compared two methods with a similar number of repetitions but that differed by their metabolic demand: the 3/7 method consis...

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Main Authors: Séverine Stragier, Jacques Duchateau, Frédéric Cotton, Julie Smet, Fleur Wolff, Jérémy Tresnie, Alain Carpentier
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Sports
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/13/4/111
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author Séverine Stragier
Jacques Duchateau
Frédéric Cotton
Julie Smet
Fleur Wolff
Jérémy Tresnie
Alain Carpentier
author_facet Séverine Stragier
Jacques Duchateau
Frédéric Cotton
Julie Smet
Fleur Wolff
Jérémy Tresnie
Alain Carpentier
author_sort Séverine Stragier
collection DOAJ
description To assess the impact of metabolic stress on blood lactate, muscle damage, inflammatory and hormonal responses following a high-load (70% maximum) strength training session, we compared two methods with a similar number of repetitions but that differed by their metabolic demand: the 3/7 method consisting in two series of five sets of an increasing number of repetitions (3 to 7) with a short inter-set interval (15 s) and the 8 × 6 method that comprises eight sets of six repetitions with a longer inter-set interval (2.5 min). Blood concentrations in lactate, creatine kinase (CK), myoglobin (MB), interleukine-6 (IL-6), leukocytes, growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and cortisol were determined before and after each session. Lactate concentration increased more (11.9 vs. 3.1 mmol/L; <i>p</i> < 0.001) for the 3/7 method whereas CK and MB concentrations were augmented similarly (<i>p</i> > 0.05) for both methods. Inflammatory markers (leukocytes and IL-6) increased (<i>p</i> < 0.01) more after the 3/7 method. GH and cortisol concentrations also increased more (<i>p</i> < 0.001) after the 3/7 method with no difference in IGF-1 concentrations between methods. Positive associations were found between the change in lactate and changes in IL-6 (r<sup>2</sup> = 0.47; <i>p</i> < 0.01), GH (r<sup>2</sup> = 0.58; <i>p</i> < 0.001) and cortisol (r<sup>2</sup> = 0.61; <i>p</i> < 0.001) concentrations. In conclusion, the greater lactate accumulation induced by short inter-set intervals during a high-load training session is associated with enhanced inflammatory and hormonal responses, suggesting that metabolic stress might contribute to the greater adaptative response previously observed with this method.
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spelling doaj-art-c732f3ab928341a68d2ef3f52423d9002025-08-20T02:25:08ZengMDPI AGSports2075-46632025-04-0113411110.3390/sports13040111Effect of Metabolic Stress to High-Load Exercise on Muscle Damage, Inflammatory and Hormonal ResponsesSéverine Stragier0Jacques Duchateau1Frédéric Cotton2Julie Smet3Fleur Wolff4Jérémy Tresnie5Alain Carpentier6Research Unit in Cardio-Respiratory Physiology, Exercise & Nutrition, Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, Université libre de Bruxelles, 1070 Brussels, BelgiumLaboratory of Applied Biology and Neurophysiology, Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, Université libre de Bruxelles, 1070 Brussels, BelgiumLaboratoire Hospitalier Universitaire de Bruxelles, Clinical Chemistry, Université libre de Bruxelles, 1070 Brussels, BelgiumLaboratoire Hospitalier Universitaire de Bruxelles, Immunology, Université libre de Bruxelles, 1070 Brussels, BelgiumLaboratoire Hospitalier Universitaire de Bruxelles, Clinical Chemistry, Université libre de Bruxelles, 1070 Brussels, BelgiumLaboratoire Hospitalier Universitaire de Bruxelles, Immunology, Université libre de Bruxelles, 1070 Brussels, BelgiumResearch Unit in Cardio-Respiratory Physiology, Exercise & Nutrition, Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, Université libre de Bruxelles, 1070 Brussels, BelgiumTo assess the impact of metabolic stress on blood lactate, muscle damage, inflammatory and hormonal responses following a high-load (70% maximum) strength training session, we compared two methods with a similar number of repetitions but that differed by their metabolic demand: the 3/7 method consisting in two series of five sets of an increasing number of repetitions (3 to 7) with a short inter-set interval (15 s) and the 8 × 6 method that comprises eight sets of six repetitions with a longer inter-set interval (2.5 min). Blood concentrations in lactate, creatine kinase (CK), myoglobin (MB), interleukine-6 (IL-6), leukocytes, growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and cortisol were determined before and after each session. Lactate concentration increased more (11.9 vs. 3.1 mmol/L; <i>p</i> < 0.001) for the 3/7 method whereas CK and MB concentrations were augmented similarly (<i>p</i> > 0.05) for both methods. Inflammatory markers (leukocytes and IL-6) increased (<i>p</i> < 0.01) more after the 3/7 method. GH and cortisol concentrations also increased more (<i>p</i> < 0.001) after the 3/7 method with no difference in IGF-1 concentrations between methods. Positive associations were found between the change in lactate and changes in IL-6 (r<sup>2</sup> = 0.47; <i>p</i> < 0.01), GH (r<sup>2</sup> = 0.58; <i>p</i> < 0.001) and cortisol (r<sup>2</sup> = 0.61; <i>p</i> < 0.001) concentrations. In conclusion, the greater lactate accumulation induced by short inter-set intervals during a high-load training session is associated with enhanced inflammatory and hormonal responses, suggesting that metabolic stress might contribute to the greater adaptative response previously observed with this method.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/13/4/111strength training methodsmuscle regenerationlactateblood biomarkers
spellingShingle Séverine Stragier
Jacques Duchateau
Frédéric Cotton
Julie Smet
Fleur Wolff
Jérémy Tresnie
Alain Carpentier
Effect of Metabolic Stress to High-Load Exercise on Muscle Damage, Inflammatory and Hormonal Responses
Sports
strength training methods
muscle regeneration
lactate
blood biomarkers
title Effect of Metabolic Stress to High-Load Exercise on Muscle Damage, Inflammatory and Hormonal Responses
title_full Effect of Metabolic Stress to High-Load Exercise on Muscle Damage, Inflammatory and Hormonal Responses
title_fullStr Effect of Metabolic Stress to High-Load Exercise on Muscle Damage, Inflammatory and Hormonal Responses
title_full_unstemmed Effect of Metabolic Stress to High-Load Exercise on Muscle Damage, Inflammatory and Hormonal Responses
title_short Effect of Metabolic Stress to High-Load Exercise on Muscle Damage, Inflammatory and Hormonal Responses
title_sort effect of metabolic stress to high load exercise on muscle damage inflammatory and hormonal responses
topic strength training methods
muscle regeneration
lactate
blood biomarkers
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/13/4/111
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