The purpose of present study was to investigate the cerebral oxygenation and oxygen uptake (VO2) during exercise of a combined circuit training (CCT) and a circuit resistance training (CRT). Nine healthy young male subjects performed the following two trails on separate days: 1) CCT trail (three circuits of aerobic exercise for 5 min at 50%VO2max and 1 set of four resistance exercises at 50% one-repetition maximum) and 2) CRT trail (six circuits of the same resistance exercises and intensity as for CCT without aerobic exercise). Exercise duration of these trails was 30 minutes. Cerebral oxygenation was determined by near infrared spectroscopy, and VO2 was measured by breath by breath methods. Cerebral oxygenation and VO2 were continuously monitored during the exercise. Oxyhemoglobin and total hemoglobin concentration during CCT trail was significantly higher than during CRT trail (p<0.05). Average VO2 and energy expenditure during CCT trail were significantly higher than during CRT trail (p<0.05). These results suggest that a single bout of circuit resistance training combined with aerobic exercise induced greater energy expenditure and cerebral oxygenation than those induced by a resistance training with the same exercise duration.
