Resistance and Aerobic Training Sequence Effects on Energy Consumption in Females

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of sequence of resistance and aerobic training on energy consumption on sedentary overweight females. Participants were 15 sedentary overweight females (age = 28.6 ±12 yrs; BMI = 28.1±7.8) Subjects did a counterbalanced intervention: resistance training (circuit training) first (intervention RT) or aerobic exercise first (intervention AT), while oxygen consumption was continuously measured for 80 min. Subjects performed a warm-up on the treadmill at 40% of their heart rate reserve for 5 minutes, then for 30 minutes did continuous walking or jogging on the treadmill at ~67% of their predicted maximum heart rate reserve. Immediately following treadmill exercise, subjects performed 25 minutes of resistance exercises including 2 sets of 12 reps at 67% of their 1RM of each exercise. Cool down consisted of five minutes on the treadmill with a gradual decline in speed. The energy used during the AT intervention was 431.2 ± 90.9 kcals compared to the RT intervention 398.3 ± 93.9 kcals. The mean difference was significant, (p =0.003). Based on the results of this study, aerobic exercise preceding resistance training has a greater impact on total energy consumption in females versus the reverse order.