Exercise protocol
Both groups performed a CT program with a frequency of 6 sessions a week. The resistance training program consisted of four sessions a week, divided into upper-limb/lower-limb, with a 72-h recovery period between sessions that involved training the same muscle region. The program incorporated super-sets (two exercises are performed in succession), whereby the first exercise, a multi-joint movement, was performed with relatively heavy loads (~ 5–6 repetition maximum [RM]) and the second exercise, a single-joint movement, was performed with lighter loads (~ 20RM). A 3-min rest interval was implemented between each super-set. Participants trained to volitional failure during the first 3 weeks of the study, and in the fourth week the loads were decreased; this sequence was replicated over the ensuing 4 weeks of the study. At the end of the resistance training sessions, participants performed 20 min of cardiovascular exercise on a cycle ergometer at an intensity of 65% heart rate reserve. Additionally, the participants carried out two 45-min cardio sessions on non-resistance training days. Thus, the total weekly volume of cardiovascular exercise was 170 min, with the last day of the week allocated for recovery. The intensity of the cardiovascular exercise was controlled using the estimation of the heart rate reserve via the Karvonen method (Karvonen et al. Organization of the resistance and cardiovascular training protocol. 1–0–1 = a second eccentric phase, zero isometric and one second in the concentric. RM repetition maximum