The impact of circuit resistance training on serum glucose, insulin resistance and health related physical fitness in elderly men with type 2 diabetes

Abstract

Background: Obesity and decreased physical activity are the most important factors in the development of type 2 diabetes, which in recent decades has led to an increase in the number of people with this disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of circuit resistance training (CRT) on serum glucose, insulin resistance and health related physical fitness in elderly men with type 2 diabetes. Material and methods: Twenty-two patients with type 2 diabetes (60.99 ±2.93 years) volunteered to participate in this study. They were divided randomly into two groups: training (n = 11) and control (n = 11). Participants in the training group performed a progressive CRT program for ten weeks. In addition, anthropometry variables, muscular strength and endurance were evaluated before and after ten weeks’ CRT. Also, 10 ml of the blood sample was taken from participants to measure fasting serum glucose, fasting serum insulin and insulin resistance. Results: After ten weeks of CRT, the body composition and glucose dropped significantly (P < 0.05) in the training group. Also, muscular endurance, upper and lower body strength in the post-test were significantly higher than the pre-test in the training group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: CRT led to a significant improvement in insulin resistance, fasting serum glucose, BMI, endurance and strength of elderly men with type 2 diabetes. Therefore, this type of resistance training can be useful for improvement in physical and physiological variables of elderly men with type 2 diabetes.