The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of equal work resistance exercise with different intensities on energy expenditure, and to use physiological responses after resistance exercise to explain the affecting factors of energy expenditure. In this study, sixteen university male students performed resistance exercise test of high intensity (HI, 3 sets of 10 repetitions at 75% of 1RM) and low intensity (LO, 3 sets of 15 repetitions at 50% of their 1RM) respectively. During the exercise and post-exercise periods, subject's heart rate (HR), ventilation volume (VE), oxygen consumption (VO2), respiratory exchange ratio (RER) and body temperature (BT) were continuously monitored. Repeated t-test was applied to compare the energy expenditure and physiological responses between high and low intensities. The results found that the oxygen consumption and energy expenditure in the recovery period of HI were significantly different with LO (p＜.05). HR, RER and BT showed no significant differences between HI and LO (p＞.05). Thus, the results of the study indicated that for resistance exercise with an equated work volume, HI produced higher energy expenditure than LO. Moreover, the energy expenditure during exercise in HI was also significantly higher than LO. In conclusion, the resistance exercise, especially at high intensity, is a good choice for people to design weight control program for caloric expenditure.
