Endocannabinoid and psychological responses to acute resistance exercise in trained and untrained adults

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 18; no. 12; p. e0291845
• Main Authors: Sirotiak, Zoe, Gallagher, Brandon T, Smith-Hernandez, Courtney A, Showman, Lucas J, Hillard, Cecilia J, Brellenthin, Angelique G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: San Francisco Public Library of Science 01.12.2023; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adults; Aerobics; Anxiety; Chronic illnesses; Emotions; Endocannabinoids; Exercise; Fitness training programs; Health aspects; Heart rate; Isometric exercise; Likert scale; Lipids; Machinery; Magneto-electric machines; Mental depression; Mood; Mood (Psychology); Muscles; Physical fitness; Physiological aspects; Post traumatic stress disorder; Psychological aspects; Repetition; Young adults; United States
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291845

This study examined the effects of acute resistance exercise on circulating endocannabinoid (eCB) and mood responses in trained and untrained healthy adults. Thirty-two healthy adults (22.1 ± 2.9 years) were recruited from trained (reporting resistance exercise at least twice per week for [greater than or equal to] previous three months) and untrained (performing no resistance exercise for [greater than or equal to] previous three months) groups. Participants (13 male, 19 female) completed three sets of resistance exercise (16 repetitions at 50% 1-repetition max, 12 repetitions at 70% 1-repetition max, 8 repetitions at 80% 1-repetition max). Resistance machines targeted the legs, chest, back, and abdominal muscles. Mood states, affect, and circulating eCB concentrations were evaluated before and after resistance exercise. There were significant decreases in AEA, PEA, and OEA levels following acute resistance exercise (p <0.05; ds = -0.39, -0.48, -0.65, respectively), with no significant group differences or group by time interactions. 2-AG did not change significantly. Positive affect increased significantly following resistance exercise (p = 0.009), while negative affect decreased (p <0.001). Depressive symptoms, anger, confusion, and total mood disturbance decreased significantly (p <0.05), while vigor increased significantly following resistance exercise (p = 0.005). There were no significant group differences or group by time interactions for any psychological outcomes. These results indicate that acute resistance exercise may reduce eCB and related lipid concentrations, which is opposite to the increase in lipids typically observed with acute aerobic exercise. Furthermore, psychological improvements occur after resistance exercise regardless of decreases in eCBs, supporting the notion that psychological changes with exercise likely occur through a wide variety of biological and environmental mechanisms.