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THE VOLUME OF RESISTANCE EXERCISES INFLUENCES BLOOD PRESSURE REACTIVITY TO STRESS

Introduction

The hyper-reactivity of blood pressure (BP) to stress can be associated with the development of arterial hypertension. However, performing physical exercises beforehand has proven to be effective in attenuating this BP elevation in response to subsequent stress.

Objective

Verify the effect of the volume of resistance exercise session (RE) on blood pressure reactivity (VR) to induced stress.

Methods

Forty normotensive young adults underwent three experimental sessions randomly: Session of 2 series of RE (S2); Session of 4 series of RE (S4); and a Control session without exercises (CS). S2 and S4 were performed at 70% of one repetition maximum and composed of six exercises with 10 repetitions each (90s interval between series). At the 10th minute of recovery from experimental sessions, the volunteers underwent a Cold Pressor Test (CPT), which is a stress protocol where the right hand is immersed in cold water (4-5º C) for 1 minute to determine VR. Systolic BP (SBP), diastolic (DBP), mean (MBP) and heart rate (HR) were measured at rest before experimental sessions (20 minutes) and immediately after CPT.

Results

In response to the stress induced by CPT the HR did not differ between experimental sessions (CS: 98 ± 9 vs. S2: 107 ± 12 vs. S4: 113 ± 13 bpm, P>0.05). However, after a session of higher volume RE, attenuation of VR was observed for SBP (CS: 145 ± 18 vs. S2: 142 ± 16 vs. S4: 133 ± 15 mmHg; P <0.05), DBP (CS: 96 ± 13 vs. S2: 90 ± 14 vs. S4: 86 ± 12 mmHg; P <0.05) and MBP (CS: 89 ± 10 vs. S2: 91 ± 5 vs. S4: 91 ± 4 mmHg, P<0.05).

Conclusion

The higher volume (4 series vs. 2 series) of resistance exercises resulted in attenuation of blood pressure reactivity to stress induction.

resistance training; arterial pressure; stress physiological


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