Effect of Different Warm-Up Durations on the Plasma Oxidative Stress Biomarkers Following Anaerobic Exercise in Amateur Handball Players

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of three warm-up durations on post-exercise oxidative stress biomarkers, as well as recovery from the Wingate test in 14 amateur handball players. These players completed the Wingate test three times: after 5 min, after 10 min, and then after 15 min of warm-up, spread over 2 weeks with an interval of 1 week between each session. At the end of each session of the Wingate test, blood samples were taken: at rest (PR), after warming up (PWU) and immediately at the end of the test (P0), then after 10-min (P10) and after 20-min (P20) of recovery. The measured parameters are the total antioxidant status (TAS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), malondialdehyde (MDA), protein-bound-carbonyls (PCs) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARSs). The main findings revealed that anaerobic exercise induces oxidative stress, as evidenced by changes in antioxidant status and significant increases in concentrations of the majority of oxidative stress indicators (p < 0.05). At P20, plasma GPx, SOD, GR, TBARSs, and PC contents, are lower and significantly different after a 15-min warm-up than after a 10-min or 5-min warm-up. ANOVA showed a significant ”warm-up × recovery” effect on plasma GPx, SOD, GR, TBARSs, and PC contents [F(8.104) = 3.61; p < 0.001; η2p = 0.22, F(8.104): from 1.88 to 19.97; η2p: from 0.19 to 0.61: 0.05 < p < 0.001], respectively. We concluded that a 15-min warm-up was more efficient than the other duration in reducing a free radical rise, emphasizing the importance of the warm-up length on plasma oxidative stress biomarkers.