Time-course effects of functional fitness sessions performed at different intensities on the metabolic, hormonal, and BDNF responses in trained men

Ramires Alsamir Tibana; Ivo Vieira de Sousa Neto; Nuno Manuel Frade de Sousa; Wellington Martins Dos Santos; Jonato Prestes; João Henrique Falk Neto; Fábio H Dominski; Michael D Kennedy; Fabricio Azevedo Voltarelli

doi:10.1186/s13102-022-00412-6

Time-course effects of functional fitness sessions performed at different intensities on the metabolic, hormonal, and BDNF responses in trained men

BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2022 Feb 8;14(1):22. doi: 10.1186/s13102-022-00412-6.

Authors

Ramires Alsamir Tibana¹, Ivo Vieira de Sousa Neto², Nuno Manuel Frade de Sousa³, Wellington Martins Dos Santos⁴, Jonato Prestes⁴, João Henrique Falk Neto⁵, Fábio H Dominski⁶, Michael D Kennedy⁵, Fabricio Azevedo Voltarelli⁷

Affiliations

¹ Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), Cuiabá, Brazil. ramirestibana@gmail.com.
² Laboratory of Molecular Analysis, Graduate Program of Sciences and Technology of Health, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil.
³ Laboratory of Exercise Physiology, Faculty Estacio of Vitoria, Vitoria, Brazil.
⁴ Graduate Program On Physical Education, Catholic University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil.
⁵ Athlete Health Lab, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
⁶ Laboratory of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Human Movement Sciences Graduate Program, College of Health and Sport Science of the Santa Catarina State University (UDESC), Florianópolis, Brazil.
⁷ Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), Cuiabá, Brazil.

Abstract

Background: To investigate the time-course effects of a self-regulated training session (performed at an rating perceived exertion of 6/10), all-out session, and a control session on the metabolic, hormonal, and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) responses in Functional-Fitness (FFT) participants.

Methods: In a randomized, crossover fashion, eight healthy males (age 28.1 ± 5.4 years old; body mass 77.2 ± 4.4 kg; VO_2max: 52.6 ± 4.6 mL.(kg.min)^-1; 2000 m rowing test 7.35 ± 0.18 min; 1RM back squat 135.6 ± 21.9 kg) performed a FFT session under two different conditions: all-out, or with the intensity controlled to elicit an rating perceived exertion (RPE) of 6 in the Borg 10-point scale (RPE6). A control session (no exercise) was also completed. Metabolic (lactate and creatine kinase), hormonal (testosterone and cortisol), and BDNF responses were assessed pre, post-0 h, 1 h, 2 h and 24 h after the sessions.

Results: Creatine kinase concentrations were significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) after 24 h for both training sessions. Total and free testosterone concentrations were lower post-2 h for all-out when compared to the RPE6 session (p ≤ 0.05). Serum cortisol concentration increased post-0 h (p = 0.011) for RPE6 and post-0 h (p = 0.003) and post-1 h (p = 0.030) for all-out session when comparing to baseline concentrations. BDNF was significantly higher (p = 0.002) post-0 h only for the all-out session when compared to baseline. A positive correlation between blood lactate concentrations and BDNF (r = 0.51; p = 0.01) was found for both effort interventions.

Conclusions: A single FFT session when performed in all-out format acutely increases the concentrations of serum BDNF. However, physiological stress markers show that the all-out session requires a longer recovery period when compared to the RPE6 protocol. These findings can be helpful to coaches and practitioners design FFT session.

Keywords: CrossFit; Endocrine system; High-intensity functional training; Metabolism; Neurotrophin; Rating perceived exertion.