Background & Objectives: Menopause is associated with increased cardiovascular risk factors. This investigation examined the effects of resistance training on cardiovascular risk factors in ovariectomized rats.
Material & methods: In this experimental study, 16 adult ovariectomized female Wistar rats were randomly allocated into control (n=8) and resistance training (n=8) groups. The progressive resistance training protocol was administered for 10 weeks (5 sessions per weeks). Training protocol consisted of 8 series of climbs on the ladder with progressive overload attached to the tail and each series contained an average of 8 to 12 climbing movements (repetitions). Forty eight hours after the last training session, animals were anesthetized, blood was taken directly from the heart. Then serum homocysteine levels and lipid profile were measured and insulin resistance index was calculated. All variables were compared by unpaired t-test) p< 0.05(.
Results: serum homocysteine levels (p = 0.013) and insulin resistance index (p = 0.019) were significantly decreased in resistance training group compared with the control group, but lipid profile did not differ among rat groups (p˃0.05).
 Conclusion: It seems that ten weeks of progressive resistance training reduced serum homocysteine levels and insulin resistance index in ovariectomized rats, but did not effect on the serum lipid profile.