Impact of Polyphenol Supplementation on Acute and Chronic Response to Resistance Training

Beyer, KS, Stout, JR, Fukuda, DH, Jajtner, AR, Townsend, JR, Church, DD, Wang, R, Riffe, JJ, Muddle, TWD, Herrlinger, KA, and Hoffman, JR. Impact of polyphenol supplementation on acute and chronic response to resistance training. J Strength Cond Res 31(11): 2945–2954, 2017—This study investigated the effect of a proprietary polyphenol blend (PPB) on acute and chronic adaptations to resistance exercise. Forty untrained men were assigned to control, PPB, or placebo. Participants in PPB or placebo groups completed a 4-week supplementation period (phase I), an acute high-volume exercise bout (phase II), and a 6-week resistance training program (phase III); whereas control completed only testing during phase II. Blood draws were completed during phases I and II. Maximal strength in squat, leg press, and leg extension were assessed before and after phase III. The exercise protocol during phase II consisted of squat, leg press, and leg extension exercises using 70% of the participant's strength. The resistance training program consisted of full-body exercises performed 3 d·wk(−1). After phase I, PPB (1.56 ± 0.48 mM) had greater total antioxidant capacity than placebo (1.00 ± 0.90 mM). Changes in strength from phase III were similar between PPB and placebo. Polyphenol blend supplementation may be an effective strategy to increase antioxidant capacity without limiting strength gains from training.