Title

Subcutaneous Fat Alterations Resulting From An Upper-Body Resistance Training Program

Keywords

Exercise; Gender; Magnetic resonance imaging; Skinfold measurement; Spot reduction

Abstract

PURPOSE: It is believed spot reduction, the exercise-induced localized loss of subcutaneous fat, does not occur as a result of an exercise program; however, evidence as a whole has been inconsistent. To reexamine this concept, we compared subcutaneous fat measurements before and after resistance training among 104 subjects (45 men, 59 women). METHODS: Subjects participated in 12 wk of supervised resistance training of their nondominant arm. Magnetic resonance imaging and skinfold calipers examined subcutaneous fat in the nondominant (trained) and dominant (untrained) arms before and after resistance training. Repeated-measures ANCOVA tested for subcutaneous fat differences within and between arms before, after, and from before to after resistance training by gender and measurement technique, with BMI and age as covariates. Simple linear regression compared subcutaneous fat changes before and after resistance training as assessed by MRI and skinfold. RESULTS: Subcutaneous fat, measured by skinfold, decreased in the trained arm and not the untrained arm in the men (P < 0.01); it was similar in the total sample and in the women (P > 0.05). MRI determinations of subcutaneous fat changes were not different between arms in the total sample and by gender (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Subcutaneous fat changes resulting from resistance training varied by gender and assessment technique. Skinfold findings indicate that spot reduction occurred in men but not in women. In contrast, MRI found a generalized subcutaneous fat loss independent of gender, supporting the notion that spot reduction does not occur as a result of resistance training. MRI, sensitive to changes along the entire upper arm, detected greater variation in resistance training responses, preventing significant differences between trained and untrained arms. Variation in upper-arm resistance training response was not evident from a single skinfold measurement at the belly of the muscle. ©2007The American College of Sports Medicine.

Publication Date

7-1-2007

Publication Title

Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise

Volume

39

Issue

7

Number of Pages

1177-1185

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b0138058a5cb

Socpus ID

34347351342 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/34347351342

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