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Updated: Aug 6, 2026

Conducting Maximal and Submaximal Endurance Exercise Testing to Measure Physiological and Biological Responses to Acute Exercise in Humans
Published on: October 17, 2018
Intensity matters: high-intensity interval resistance exercise induces greater immune activation than low-intensity
Fabian Fabritius1,2, Matthias Rißmayer1,3, Miriam Ringleb1,4,5
1NeuroPsychoImmunology Research Unit, Department for Molecular and Cellular Sports Medicine, Institute for Cardiovascular Research and Sports Medicine, German Sport University Cologne, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933, Cologne, Germany.
Purpose:
Acute physical exercise triggers a transient immune response. For endurance exercise, these effects are intensity-dependent. In contrast, the role of exercise intensity in resistance exercise (RE) and its contribution to immune modulation remains less understood. This randomised crossover trial aims to compare the acute effects of High-Intensity Interval Resistance Exercise (HIIRE) versus Low-Intensity Resistance Exercise (LIRE) on routine clinical cellular inflammatory markers-neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII)-in 24 healthy, RE-trained young men.
Methods:
Measurements were taken at baseline (T0), immediately post-exercise (T1), and 45 min post-exercise (T2). It was hypothesised that HIIRE would elicit a significantly greater increase in NLR, PLR, and SII from baseline (T0) to post-exercise (T1 and T2) compared to LIRE.
Results:
Baseline-adjusted ANCOVAs revealed significant interactions for cellular inflammatory markers (η2p = .072; NLR: p < .001, η2p = .217; PLR: p < .001, η2p = .147; SII: p < .001, η2p = .204). Post hoc analyses locate this difference for NLR, PLR, and SII 45 min post-exercise, with greater increases of HIIRE.
Conclusion:
The results suggest a complex immune response involving pro-inflammatory signalling and immune cell redistribution induced by acute RE, with intensity being a main driver. This underscores the pivotal role of intensity in modulating acute immune responses to RE, with potential implications for exercise prescription targeting inflammatory processes.
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