Impact of a 16-week strength training program on physical performance, body composition and cardiac remodeling in previously untrained women and men

Even if more and more women are involved in strength-training (ST) programs in fitness centers, studies on strength gain, body composition, and cardiac remodeling were mainly conducted in men and whether they are similar in women remains to be explored. In this context, the aim of our study was to assess the effect of a supervised ST program on strength gains, body composition, and cardiac remodeling in previously untrained women and men. 17 healthy and previously untrained young women and 17 young men participated in a supervised 16-week ST program built according to the recommendation of the American College of Sports Medicine in terms of intensity, and strictly using similar volume and intensity in both groups. Strength performance, body composition, and cardiac remodeling were evaluated every 4 weeks. Cardiac adaptations were assessed using resting echocardiography, including regional 2D-Strain analysis of the left atrium and ventricle (LA and LV, respectively). Despite lower values at baseline, women exhibited similar or even higher strength gains compared to men. ST induced a decrease of body and abdominal fat mass and an increase of lean body mass in both groups. Similar cardiac remodeling was observed in women, and women, including an early and progressive LV and LA enlargement throughout the ST program, without any alteration of LV diastolic and systolic functions. These findings underlie that ST programs are highly suitable for women to enhance their strength performance and their cardiovascular health. After 16 weeks of a supervised strength-training program, designed according to recommendations of the American College of Sports Medicine, previously untrained women increased their strength performance to a similar extent compared to men. 16 weeks of strength-training, performed at high intensity and mobilizing important muscle mass, induces positive alteration of the body composition, characterized by an increase of lean body mass and a decrease of total and abdominal fat mass, suggesting cardiovascular health benefits, in both women and men. Strength-training induced an early and progressive left ventricular and left atrial enlargement in both women and men, without any cardiac functional alterations. In all, our results highlighted that strength-training is highly suitable to enhance the strength performance and the cardiovascular health of women, in a similar manner to those previously observed in men.