Discussion
flexion and extension movements, hypertrophy, MM, FM
HYPERTROPHY
This study investigated, the effectiveness of systematic RT using free weight on strength, and body composition in middle-aged women (40–60 years). For this purpose, a 20-week intervention with a 10-week control-phase and a 10-week training phase was conducted. The results show different effects on body composition for PreMeno and PostMeno women, but not on strength gains. PreMeno women with higher E2 concentrations and an active menstrual cycle significantly increased their FFM (small effect), MM (strong effect) and muscle thickness in VL (moderate effect) compared to PostMeno women regardless of training intensity. However, similar increases in lower and upper body strength as well as grip strength were achieved in all groups. In contrast to the hypertrophy effects, there appear to be no differences depending on hormone concentrations.In general, there is a lack of studies on RT in middle-aged women using free weights only. However, flexion and extension movements in the hip joint, as well as traction and compression stresses on the shoulder joint, are everyday strains for active individuals. Free weight exercises such as squats and bench presses, which can simulate movements of daily living, may be ideal for increasing strength at a high level of specificity [Compared to dynamic strength, there was no increase in isometric grip strength in any group after the training intervention. On the contrary, a significant increase was observed in all groups at the end of the first phase, despite this phase being a control period without RT. The adaptation effects were more likely due to learning effects, as no RT was performed at this time. Surprisingly, grip strength did not improve during the subsequent intervention period, although most of the exercises undertaken require a strong grip, e.g. lateral flexion, barbell row and lat pull, which could have yielded improvements in grip strength. Similar to the data presented here, RT on machines for 12 weeks and three training sessions per week had no effect on grip strength [Unlike muscular strength, significant differences between PreMeno and PostMeno women could be identified for FFM and MM. Significant curve progression was only observed in the PreMeno MI-RT group. A negative trend was also observed in the PostMeno LI-RT group. Compared to the PostMeno MI-RT group, MM decreased by -1.8 ± 2.0 kg between T0 and T2 (Table Training volume may also influence muscle growth in PostMeno women. Several attempts have been made to compare low-volume and high-volume training in RT research with elderly women [Importantly, not all studies found significant differences in favor of high-volume interventions compared to low-volume interventions for muscle growth [Kang and colleagues also observed significant muscle growth with RT after 12 weeks [FM decreased significantly only in the PreMeno MI-RT group. The results of both PostMeno groups do not confirm the observations of previous studies. Both Kang et al. [