Dose-and gender-specific effects of resistance training on circulating levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in community-dwelling older adults

Our results show that only the mixed-low-resistance training program with a very high number of repetitions at a sufficiently high external resistance was able to increase circulating BDNF in older male participants. Training to volitional fatigue might be necessary to obtain optimal results. Additional studies are needed to unravel the underlying mechanisms, as well as to confirm the observed gender difference.