The effect of 12 weeks of resistance training on hormones of bone formation in young sedentary women

Physical activity has been proposed as one strategy to enhance bone mineral acquisition; however, the basic mechanisms of this effect are not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 12 weeks of resistance training on hormones of bone formation in young sedentary women. Twenty sedentary females (aged 25.3 +/- A 3.2 years; +/- SD) volunteered to participate in this study. The subjects were randomly assigned to a training group (n = 10) or control group (n = 10). Subjects executed eight resistance exercises selected to stress the major muscle groups in the following order: chest press, leg extension, shoulder press, leg curls, latissimus pull down, leg press, arm curls, and triceps extension. Resistance training consisted of 50-60 min of circuit weight training per day, 3 days a week, for 12 weeks. This training was circularly performed in eight stations and included two to four sets with 8-12 maximal repetitions at 65-80 % of one-repetition maximum in each station. After 12 weeks, the training group had a significant increase (P < 0.05) in the growth hormone, estrogen, parathyroid hormone and testosterone compared to the control group. The results showed that insulin-like growth factor I levels did not change significantly in response to resistance training. In conclusion, the results suggest that resistance training with specific intensity and duration utilized in this study increases the hormones of bone formation in young sedentary women.