Concurrent Training in Type 2 Diabetes

It is recommended that individuals perform a combination of resistance exercise (RE) and endurance exercise. Lack of time is often cited as a reason for being unable to meet current exercise guidelines. Therefore, combining both forms in one session may be beneficial. However, research continues to elucidate whether interference of adaptive outcomes occurs when RE and endurance exercise are performed concurrently. A proposed interference effect suggests that concurrent training may dampen RE-induced adaptations (e.g., muscle strength and growth) compared to RE only. The propose of this investigation is to determine the effects of concurrent RE and high-intensity interval training (HIIT), compared to RE only, on muscle health and cardiovascular risk in sedentary, middle-aged (40-65 years) who are overweight/obese with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The investigators will measure the effects on muscle strength, muscle growth, cardiovascular fitness, glycaemic control and markers of cardiovascular risk before and after an 8-week training program. Data will be obtained through the analysis of skeletal muscle samples, blood samples, magnetic resonance imaging, questionnaires and exercise performance tests.It is hypothesized that concurrent RE + HIIT will amplify the exercise-induced muscle growth response, which will result in greater satellite cell content, compared to RE alone. As a result, this will lead to greater skeletal muscle mass and strength after RE + HIIT compared to RE in isolation. A finding that concurrent resistance training and HIIT does not impede muscle adaptations could offer future strategies to minimize exercise time commitment whilst still maximizing the physiological benefits of both resistance and endurance exercise through a single training session. This may therefore provide an effective exercise strategy in the prevention and/or treatment of T2DM.