Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Azam Mollanovruzi ¹
• Mitra Khademosharie ²
• Mahmoud Hesar Koushki ³

¹ Department of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Kosar University of Bojnord, Bojnord, Iran.

² Department of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Kosar University of Bojnord, Bojnord, Iran

³ Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Humanities, Atrak Quchan University, Iran

Abstract

Purposes:

This study aimed to investigate the effects of 12 weeks of aerobic, resistance, and combined training on lipid profile and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in postmenopausal women.



Materials and Methods:

Sixty postmenopausal women (aged 50–65 years) were randomly assigned to four groups: aerobic training (n=15), resistance training (n=15), combined training (n=15), and control (n=15). Interventions consisted of 12 weeks of training (3 sessions per week, 60 minutes per session) at moderate to high intensity. Lipid profile (LDL, HDL, triglycerides) and CVD markers (CRP, blood pressure) were measured at baseline and at the end of the study.



Results:

ANCOVA analysis with Tukey's post hoc test showed a significant difference between groups in LDL, indicating that the combined group performed best in all physiological variables and was significantly better than the control group (p=0.001) and one of the aerobic or resistance groups (p=0.001).



Discussion:

The combined group was the most effective intervention with a 15% reduction in LDL and 18% in triglycerides p<0.05, confirming its superiority over the aerobic (10% reduction in LDL) and resistance (12% reduction in triglycerides) groups. These findings emphasize the importance of combined programs. It seems that combining aerobic and resistance training is more effective in postmenopausal women.

Keywords

• Aerobic exercise
• resistance exercise
• combined exercise
• cardiovascular risk
• postmenopausal women