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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04038177

Superset Strength Training for Time-efficiency

Physical inactivity is a global challenge and there is an urgent need to find strategies to increases people's activity levels. Strength training is one of the activities that is recommended to engage in regularly by both the American College of Sports Medicine and the World Health Organization. Understanding how strength training can be done effectively without spending much time could potentially increase people's involvement in strength training, as lack of time often is reported as barrier to training. Superset strength training can potentially be a time-efficient way of strength training, as this training method has been found to take half the time of the traditional ways of training.

The aim of the present study is therefore to compare the effects of superset strength training and traditional strength training on muscular strength, body composition and fatigue.

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Key information

Conditions

Sedentary Lifestyle Behavior Sedentary Behavior

Age range

18 year–45 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Trondheim, 7491, Norway

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • living in Trøndelag
  • did not perform weekly strength training during the past 6 months.

Exclusion criteria

  • any known severe somatic condition (e.g., autoimmune and systemic inflammatory diseases, cancer, severe osteoporosis)
  • any known severe psychiatric condition
  • other contraindications for heavy resistance training (e.g. shoulder pain).

Treatment and study plan

Superset strength training

Behavioral

Three weeks of familiarization (two times per week) to the exercises leg-press, bench press, lateral pulldown and seated rows, followed by superset strength training two days per week for 12-weeks. Superset 1 are bench-press and seated rows, and superset 2 are leg-press and lateral pulldown. Each superset is performed three times.

Traditional strength training

Behavioral

Three weeks of familiarization (two times per week) to the exercises leg-press, bench press, lateral pulldown and seated rows, followed by strength training two days per week for 12-weeks. Each exercise is performed for three sets with rest intervals between each set.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in muscular strength

    Time frame: 3 months

    Change in one repetition maximum strength (weight in kilograms) for all exercises

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in body weight

    Time frame: 3 months

    Assessed using a body composition analyzer (i.e. InBody)

  2. Change in muscle mass

    Time frame: 3 months

    Assessed using a body composition analyzer (i.e. InBody)

  3. Change in body composition fat mass

    Time frame: 3 months

    Assessed using a body composition analyzer (i.e. InBody)

  4. Change in body composition BMI

    Time frame: 3 months

    Assessed using a body composition analyzer (i.e. InBody)

Other outcomes

  1. Training load

    Time frame: continuously for 3 months

    Assessed by training diaries

  2. Training volume

    Time frame: continuously for 3 months

    Assessed by training diaries

  3. Perceived exhaustion

    Time frame: continuously for 3 months

    Borg Category Ratio Scale (0-10) - information from training diaries

  4. Participant's experiences with the intervention

    Time frame: 3 months

    Semi-structured focus group interviews with questions regarding the experience participant had during the intervention, questions related to the training program, questions related to motivation and fatigue, questions related to time-efficiency

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Superset Strength Training for Time-efficiency - A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study

Important dates

Study start
2019
Primary completion
2019
Study completion
2019
First posted
Jul 30, 2019
Registry last updated
Jul 7, 2020

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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