Effect of multiple-set and circuit training on enzymatic markers of muscle damage and erythrocyte membrane stability

Abstract

Exercise increases biomarkers of muscle damage and promotes hemorheological adaptations, such as changes in erythrocyte aggregation, deformability, and fluidity. The objective was to verify the effect of a single session of two different physical training programs —multiple series and circuits —on the concentration of biomarkers of muscle damage and the stability of the erythrocyte membrane. Twenty-one healthy, active men participated in single sessions of both types of training. The first session consisted of circuit training (CT), and the second, conducted a week later, consisted of a multiple-series training session (MST). Blood samples were collected before and immediately after each session. There was a significant increase in the serum concentration after both types of training of the CK (CT ∆=65.7%; MST ∆=106.2%), CK-MB (CT ∆=343.6%; MST ∆=404.0%), LDH (CT ∆=16.7%; MST ∆=5.8%), AST (CT ∆=16.2%; MST ∆=23.1%), and ALT (CT ∆=184.9%; MST ∆=203.0%). Only CK-MB and CK showed a difference between groups. Heart rate increased after both training sessions, with higher values after CT. MST may have decreased the osmotic stability of the erythrocyte membrane, increasing lysis capacity, but with a small effect. The CT group may have had a greater impact on the amount of hemoglobin released from erythrocytes in the highest hypotonic conditions of the experiment than the MST group. It appears that other issues not considered in this study increased the amount of hemoglobin released from erythrocytes. In contrast, the proposed solution has a negligible impact on lysis. CT and MST led to changes in heart rate and in enzymes indicative of muscle damage. The CT group appeared to decrease the osmotic stability of the red blood cell membrane, increasing lysis capacity, but with a small effect. In contrast, the CT group may have had a large effect on the amount of hemoglobin released from red blood cells under the higher hypotonic conditions of the experiment.