The effect of special exercise training on cardio-respiratory fitness, body composition, BMR, and correlation among them in elite athletes

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to assess the effects of 8-week special exercise training
on cardio-respiratory parameters, body composition and basal metabolic rate (BMR) in elite
athletes. Methods: For this reason, 7 male boxer of national team (height, 176.2±22.3; weight,
74.91±18.51) were selected. They were evaluated by gas analyzer and body composition analyzer
before and after the training program about cardiorespiratory variables (including: lactate threshold
oxygen consumption (Vo2@LT), maximal oxygen consumption (Vo2max), rest ventilation (VER),
lactate threshold ventilation (VELT), ventilation in Vo2max conditions [VEVo2max], lactate
threshold heart rate (HRLT), and lactate threshold in maximal heart rate (HRLT), BMR, and body
composition variables (such as: weight, fat mass (FM), body fat percent (BF%), Body Mass Index
(BMI), Lean Body Mass (LBM), Muscle Mass (MM), and Total Body Fluid (TBF). Furthermore,
correlation among cardiorespiratory, body composition, and BMR properties was studied. Results:
Results of paired t-test showed that this special exercise training does not have any effect on body
composition, although, cardiorespiratory variables had improved (however, in more cases was not
significant). In this manner, results from Pearson correlation indicated that some cardiorespiratory
variables (such as VE) had been associated with most of body composition parameters. In addition,
this correlation exists between BMR and most of the body composition parameters. Conclusions:
In conclusion, our study may demonstrate that such program can be effective on mentioned
cardiorespiratory indices especially if training program is extended. However, body composition
seemingly is not affected in elite athletes.