Beyond physical fitness: Pre-to-post hematological and physical fitness changes during an eight-week multi-component exercise program in sedentary adults aged 30–45 years
Yasin DEMİRCAN, Vedat Ayan, Selami Yüksek, Fatih Gür, Burak Kural, Halit Şar · PLoS ONE · 2026
This exploratory study aimed to examine pre-to-post changes in physical fitness and selected hematological parameters during an 8-week multi-component exercise program in sedentary adults. The study used a single-group pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental
Design: to describe temporal changes within the same participants. Thirty-six sedentary volunteers (15 females and 21 males) aged 30-45 years completed a multi-component program including cardiorespiratory endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility exercises for 45-50 minutes per session, 3 days per week, for 8 weeks. Paired-samples t-tests were used to compare pre-test and post-test measurements. Body weight and body mass index decreased, whereas estimated VO2max, vertical jump, flexibility, speed, agility, and balance performance showed statistically significant pre-to-post changes (all p 0.05). Participation in the program coincided with favorable changes in body composition and physical performance and with measurable changes in selected hematological parameters. However, the absence of a control group and the lack of direct assessment of plasma volume, hydration status, erythropoietin, iron status, and hemoglobin mass preclude causal and mechanistic
Conclusions: . The hematological
Findings: may partly reflect hemoconcentration, plasma-volume shifts, or other physiological variation and should therefore be interpreted cautiously.