Ricardo Mora-Rodriguez

University of Castilla-La Mancha · Centro de Estudios Sociosanitarios

We analyzed the interindividual heterogeneity in health responses to a supervised high-intensity interval training (HIIT) program in individuals with metabolic syndrome (MetS). Two-hundred and sixty-four adults with overweight/obesity (56.3±7.3 y, body mass index, 32.3±4.7 kg·m ⁻² ), and MetS were randomized to a standard health care non-exercise g...

Background Metabolic syndrome (MS) has been associated with the development of myocardial dysfunction which can lead to heart failure (HF). It is possible to detect early signs of myocardial dysfunction by assessing the global longitudinal strain (GLS) in a transthoracic echocardiography. A reduced GLS is considered as a predictor of HF development...

We investigated if a bout of exercise in a hot environment (HEAT) would reduce the postprandial hyperglycemia induced by glucose ingestion. The hypothesis was that HEAT stimulating glycogen use would increase the disposal of the ingested glucose (i.e., OGTT; 75 g of glucose). Separated by at least 1 week, nine young-healthy individuals underwent th...

Aim To determine whether glucose volume of distribution (VdGLUCOSE) affects the diagnosis of impaired insulin sensitivity (IS) when using an intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT). Methods Individuals with distinct levels of IS underwent IVGTT after an overnight fast. The prediabetic group (Prediab; n = 33) differed from the healthy group (Hea...

A supervised intense aerobic exercise program improves the health of individuals with metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, it is unclear whether the timing of training within the 24 h day would influence those health benefits. The present study aimed to determine the influence of morning vs. afternoon exercise on body composition, cardiometabolic he...

The potential interaction between metformin and exercise on glucose-lowering effects remains controversial. We studied the separated and combined effects of metformin and/or exercise on fasting and postprandial insulin sensitivity in individuals with pre- and - type 2 diabetes (T2D). Eight T2D adults (60±4 years) with overweight/obesity (32±4 kg·m-...

Background: The risk for atherogenic plaque formation is high after ingestion of meals in individuals with high blood lipid levels (i.e., dyslipidemia). Statins and exercise reduce the rise of blood triglyceride concentrations after a meal, but the effect of their combination is unclear. Methods: In a randomized crossover design, 11 individuals...

Objective: To determine whether statin medication in individuals with obesity, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome affects their capacity to mobilize and oxidize fat during exercise. Methods: Twelve individuals with metabolic syndrome pedaled during 75 min at 54 ± 13% V˙O2max (5.7 ± 0.5 metabolic equivalents) while taking statins (STATs) or aft...

Aims: To update the evidence about the diabetogenic effect of statins. Methods: We searched for randomized-controlled trials reporting the effects of statin therapy on glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and/or homeostatic model insulin resistance (i.e., HOMA-IR) as indexes of diabetes. Studies were classified between the ones testing normal vs indi...

The mechanisms driving hyperthermic hyperventilation during exercise are unclear. In a series of retrospective analyses, we evaluated the impact of combined versus isolated dehydration and hyperthermia and the effects of sympathoadrenal discharge on ventilation and pulmonary gas exchange during prolonged intense exercise. In the first study, endura...

Background Statin blunts cardiorespiratory fitness improvements after exercise training and may affect fat oxidation adaptations to training. Methods One hundred and six metabolic syndrome individuals either chronically medicated with statins (i.e., STATIN group; n = 46) or statin naïve (i.e., CONTROL group; n = 60) completed a 16-week supervised...

Introduction: Lifestyle modification through incorporation of exercise-training could improve metabolic syndrome (MetS) clinical components (hypertension, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia and visceral abdominal obesity). We aimed to assess if long-term exercise-training could restrain the increased pharmacological cost of the clinical management of the...

Aim: To study if statins, a widely prescribed, inexpensive medication to prevent coronary artery diseases may cause insulin resistance (IR). Methods: Fasted (HOMA-IR) and post meal insulin resistance, were assessed in twenty-one prediabetic hypercholesterolemic individuals treated with statins (STA trial). Measurements were compared to another t...

People with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) may have blunted exercise stimulation of metabolism explaining their resistance to lower blood glucose and triglycerides with exercise training. Glycerol and glucose rate of appearance (Ra) in plasma and substrate oxidation were determined at rest and during cycle ergometer exercise at three increasing inte...

Objective: This study aimed to determine whether chronic metformin use interferes with the improvements in insulin resistance (IR) and cardiorespiratory fitness with aerobic training in people with hyperglycemia and metabolic syndrome (MetS). Methods: A total of 63 middle-aged (53 [7] years) individuals with MetS and obesity (BMI = 32.8 [4.5] kg...

Objective: The absence of nocturnal blood pressure (BP) reduction at night in hypertensive individuals is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of an aerobic training intervention on nocturnal BP dipping in medicated hypertensive individuals. Methods: At baseline, h...

Purpose: To determine the separated and combined effects of metformin and resistance exercise on glycemic control, insulin sensitivity and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) in overweight/obese individuals with pre-and-T2DM. Methods: 14 adults with BMI of 32.1 ± 4.1 kg·m-2, insulin resistance (HOMA-2 1.6 ± 0.6) and poor glycemic control (HbA1c...

The effect of antihypertensive medicine (AHM) is larger the higher the pre-treatment blood pressure level. It is unknown whether this Wilder’s principle, also applies for the exercise-training blood pressure (BP) lowering effect. One hundred seventy-eight (n=178) middle-aged individuals (55±8 y) with metabolic syndrome (MetS), underwent high intens...

Background Individuals at risk of suffering cardiovascular disease (CVD) present larger increases in blood triglyceride (TG) concentration after a high-fat meal than healthy individuals. This postprandial hypertriglyceridemia (PPTG) is an independent risk factor for CVD. Prescription of statins and a bout of prolonged exercise are both effective in...

Objective In hypertensive individuals with metabolic syndrome (MetS), antihypertensive medications (AHM) are prescribed in conjunction with lifestyle advice (i.e., exercise) to reduce blood pressure (BP). However, if the combination of both treatments results in better BP control remains unknown. The objective of this study was to analyze the separ...

Objective To investigate if the blood pressure (BP) response to a maximal graded exercise test (GXT) is influenced by antihypertensive medication (AHM) in monotherapy or in combination. Design and method Thirty-one hypertensive individuals with obesity under AHM treatment targeting the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) were divided into...

The purpose of the study was to determine if concurrent training (endurance and resistance in a single session) elicits leg muscular adaptations beyond the ones obtained by endurance training alone in sedentary individuals with metabolic syndrome (MetS). Sixty‐six MetS individuals (37% women, age 56±7 years, BMI 32±5 kg·m‐2 and 3.8±0.8 MetS factors...

Pharmacological and non‐pharmacological therapies are simultaneously prescribed when treating hypertensive individuals with elevated cardiovascular risk (i.e., metabolic syndrome individuals). However, it is unknown if the interactions between antihypertensive medication (AHM) and lifestyle interventions (i.e., exercise training) may result in a be...

Purpose: To determine the effects of a five-year exercise intervention on metabolic syndrome (MetS) and health related variables, and medication use for MetS management. Methods: Participants were randomly assigned to an exercise intervention (n=25, 54±2y, 20% women) or control group (n=26, 54±2y, 38% women). The intervention lasted four months...

This study aimed to analyze the validity and sensitivity of two time-shortened Wingate anaerobic tests (WAnTs), by means of three phases. In Phase A, 40 participants performed a traditional 30 s WAnT, whereas the first 15 s (WAnT15) and 20 s (WAnT20) were used to elaborate two predictive models. In Phase B, another 30 s WAnT was performed by 15 dif...

It is unclear whether the traditional GXT is suitable to assess V̇o 2max changes in unfit individuals with metabolic syndrome. Mean changes in V̇o 2max following exercise training were similar using GXT or VerT. However, we showed that the GXT overestimated V̇o 2max improvements in 41% and underestimated V̇o 2max improvements in 59% of subjects. Ou...

We sought to determine the effects of substituting parts of aerobic training (AT) by resistance training (RT) on metabolic syndrome (MetS) factors. MetS patients (aged 56 ± 7 years; body mass index 33 ± 5 kg·m⁻² and 3.9 ± 0.8 MetS factors) were randomized to undergo 1 of the following isocaloric, 16-week long exercise programs: (i) cycling 4 bouts...

Aims To determine if the combination of exercise and statin could normalize postprandial triglyceridaemia (PPTG) in hypercholesteraemic individuals. Methods Eight hypercholesteraemic (blood cholesterol 182 ± 38 mg dL⁻¹; low‐density lipoprotein–cholesterol [LDL‐c] 102 ± 32 mg dL⁻¹) overweight (body mass index 30 ± 4 kg m⁻²) individuals with metabol...

: Individuals with abdominal obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) have augmented risk of all-cause mortality. Lifestyle interventions are effective to treat MetS, however, there are periods during the year in which exercise programs are discontinued and improper dietary habits reappear (e.g., Christmas holidays). We aimed to analyze if exercise-tr...

Training prescription and load monitoring in running activities have benefited from power output (PW) data obtained by new technologies. Nevertheless, to date, the suitability of PW data provided by these tools is still uncertain. In order to clarify this aspect, the present study aimed to: i) analyze the repeatability of five commercially availabl...

Aims To determine the effects of statins on postprandial lipaemia (PPL) and to study if exercise could enhance statin actions. Methods Ten hypercholesteraemic (blood cholesterol 204 ± 36 mg dL⁻¹; low‐density lipoprotein–cholesterol 129 ± 32 36 mg dL⁻¹) overweight (body mass index 30 ± 4 kg m⁻²), metabolic syndrome individuals chronically medicated...

Purpose To determine the separated and combined effects of metformin and exercise on insulin sensitivity and free-living glycemic control in overweight individuals with prediabetes/type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Methods We recruited 16 adults with BMI of 32.7 ± 4.3 kg m⁻² and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR 3.2 ± 0.4) under chronic metformin treatment (1234...

Three to 5 cycling tests to exhaustion allow prediction of time to exhaustion (TTE) at power output based on calculation of critical power (CP). We aimed to determine the accuracy of CP predictions of TTE at power outputs habitually endured by cyclists. Fourteen endurance-trained male cyclists underwent 4 randomized cycle-ergometer TTE tests at pow...

Background Statins reduce atherogenic dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in metabolic syndrome individuals (MetS). Exercise-training could also contribute to reduce CVD by improving cardiorespiratory fitness and fat oxidation. However, statin use could interfere with training adaptations. Methods One hundred and six MetS were divid...

Background: To determine the trustworthiness of graded exercise test to exhaustion (GXT) to assess maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O2 max) in metabolic syndrome individuals with obesity and poor cardiorespiratory fitness. Methods: V̇O2 max was assessed in 100 metabolic syndrome adults (57±8 years; 34% women), with obesity (BMI 32±5 kg·m-2 ) using GXT f...

High-intensity interval training (HIIT), is effective to improve cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) components in adults. However, it is unclear if CRF and MetS components respond similarly in men and women after HIIT. For 16 weeks, 63 women (53±7 years) and 56 men (55±8 years) with MetS underwent a three day/week HIIT pr...

We studied the effects of supramaximal interval exercise (SIE) with or without antihypertensive medication (AHM) on 21-hr blood pressure (BP) response. Twelve hypertensive patients chronically medicated with AHM, underwent three trials in a randomized order: a) control trial without exercise and substituting their AHM with a placebo (PLAC); b) plac...

Purpose: Continuous and interval are the two types of aerobic exercise training commonly used for health promotion. We sought to determine which aerobic exercise training program results in larger health improvements in metabolic syndrome (MetS) individuals. Methods: One hundred twenty-one MetS patients (age, 57 ± 8 yr; weight, 92 ± 15 kg; and M...

Aim To determine whether exercise training improves insulin actions through concomitant body weight loss (BWL). Methods Subjects (aged 55 ± 8 years) with metabolic syndrome (MetS), prediabetes (fasting blood glucose: 111 ± 2 mg·dL⁻¹, HbA1c: 5.85 ± 0.05%) and abdominal obesity (waist circumference: 104 ± 7.9 cm) were randomly allocated to either a...

Adequate hydration is essential for maintaining health and functionality of the human body. Studies assessing both daily water intake and hydration status are lacking. This study explored data from the European Hydration Research Study (EHRS) and focused on total water intake (TWI), 24 h hydration status, and day-to-day variations in a sample of 57...

The aim of the present study was to study if training intensity relative to ventilatory thresholds (VTs) determines the improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in middle-aged sedentary individuals with obesity. Before and after 16-weeks of HIIT (43-min alternating bouts at 70/90% of HRMAX), oxygen consumption ( O2) and heart rate (HR) at ve...

This experiment investigates the validity of six thermometers with different measuring sensors, operation and site of application, to estimate core temperature (Tc) in comparison to an ingestible thermometric sensor based on quartz crystal technology. Measurements were obtained before, during and after exercise in the heat, controlling the presence...

Abstract Background and Aims To examine the relationship between changes in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF; estimated by VO2max) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) after an exercise training intervention to confirm/contradict the high association found in cross-sectional observational studies. Methods and Results MetS individuals (54±8 yrs old; BMI of...

Purpose Diets high in saturated fat acids (SFA) have been linked with cardio-metabolic disease risk. The purpose of this study was to determine whether only 1–2 weeks of a high SFA diet could impact disease risk factors in overweight adults who normally eat a relatively low proportion of SFA (i.e., <40% of dietary fat). Methods Twelve overweight (...

Proportion of specific fatty acid species measured in plasma, muscle triglycerides, and muscle phospholipid fractions. (PDF)

Objective: There is a growing tendency for physicians to prescribe exercise in accordance with the 'exercise is medicine' global health initiative. However, the exercise-pharmacologic interactions for controlling blood pressure are not well described. Our purpose was to study whether angiotensin II receptor type 1 blocker (ARB) antihypertensive me...

We studied the blood pressure lowering effects of a bout of exercise and/or antihypertensive medicine with the goal of studying if exercise could substitute or enhance pharmacologic hypertension treatment. Twenty‐three hypertensive metabolic syndrome patients chronically medicated with angiotensin II receptor 1 blockade antihypertensive medicine un...

Purpose: We aimed to determine if yearly repeated exercise training reduces metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the use of medicines to control MetS components. Methods: Fifty five MetS individuals were randomized into a TRAIN group that underwent two yearly programs of 16-week of high intensity interval training (HIIT) or a non-exercising CONT group....

We sought to measure the response of cortisol concentrations around a professional tennis match and its association with hydration status and neuromuscular performance. Nine professional male tennis players were tested in a rest day, and 2-week after, during the first match of a professional tournament played in a clay-court. Salivary concentration...

Experimental data tennis study. (XLSX)

Purpose: To describe the acute and delayed time course of recovery following resistance training (RT) protocols differing in the number of repetitions (R) performed in each set (S) out of the maximum possible number (P). Methods: Ten resistance-trained men undertook three RT protocols [S × R(P)]: (1) 3 × 5(10), (2) 6 × 5(10), and (3) 3 × 10(10)...

While hot yoga has gained enormous popularity in recent years, owing in part to increased environmental challenge associated with exercise in the heat, it is not clear whether hot yoga is more vigorous than thermo-neutral yoga. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine objective and subjective measures of exercise intensity during constant...

Introduction: Nutritional supplements and ergogenic aids (NS&EA) are used between training/matches with the goal of enhancing tennis performance. Scientific literature about prevalence and use of NS&EA in professional tennis players is scarce. Objective: The aim of the study was to describe the NS&EA used by professional tennis players during a...

The authors determined the effect of high-intensity aerobic interval training on arterial stiffness and microvascular dysfunction in patients with metabolic syndrome with hypertension. Applanation tonometry was used to measure arterial stiffness and laser Doppler flowmetry to assess microvascular dysfunction before and after 6 months of stationary...

PurposeThe aim of this study was to determine the effects of high-intensity aerobic interval training (AIT) on exercise hemodynamics in metabolic syndrome (MetS) volunteers. Methods Thirty-eight, MetS participants were randomly assigned to a training (TRAIN) or to a non-training control (CONT) group. TRAIN consisted of stationary interval cycling a...