Effects of aerobic and anaerobic training on plasma lipoproteins

We studied the effects of anaerobic and aerobic training on lipoprotein concentrations in 45 healthy untrained men. Thirty-three subjects exercised four times per week during nine weeks on a bicycle ergometer. Sixteen trained with an intensity above the anaerobic threshold (blood lactate concentration > 4 mmol.l-1) and 17 trained with an intensity below the anaerobic threshold. In addition, twelve subjects served as controls. The calculated caloric expenditure of the two training groups was similar. In all three groups, total cholesterol, total high-density lipoprotein (HDL), HDL subfractions (HDL2, HDL3), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) were measured. Training had a significant influence on HDL, HDL2, LDL/HDL, HDL2/HDL3, and cholesterol/HDL. With anaerobic training these variables changed in the opposite direction compared with aerobic training which influenced the lipoprotein profile in the desired direction. Cholesterol, HDL3, and LDL did not alter during the nine weeks of training. After nine weeks of training, the higher the blood lactate concentration during exercise (representing training intensity) was, the higher resting LDL/HDL ratio was found. The correlation between these two variables was highly significant. We conclude that training above the anaerobic threshold has no or even negative effects on blood lipoprotein profiles. Therefore, beneficial adaptations in lipoprotein profile must be achieved with moderate training intensities below the anaerobic threshold.