The purpose of this study was to examine blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and cardiac vagal reactivation (VR) after an aerobic training session (ATS), a strength training session (STS), and a combined aerobic and strength training session (ASTS) in normotensive men. Eleven healthy men (age 26.8 ± 2.9 years, body mass index 24.3 ± 1.6 kg·m) with at least 6 months of strength and aerobic training experience performed an STS, an ATS, and an ASTS in a counterbalanced crossover design. Blood pressure and HR were measured at rest and at 15-minute intervals post-training for 1 hour. Vagal reactivation was measured during the first minute immediately post-exercise. After STS and ASTS, systolic BP (SBP) and mean arterial BP (MAP) remained significantly lower than at rest at all time intervals (p < 0.05). After ATS, SBP was significantly lower than at rest at 30 minutes and beyond (p < 0.01); however, no significant differences were observed for MAP. Post-training HR remained high after STS and ASTS at all intervals (p < 0.01). However, after ATS, the HR remained high only at the 15-minute post-exercise interval (p < 0.01). Vagal reactivation was significantly less pronounced after the first 30 seconds post-exercise (p < 0.01) in ASTS (531.3 ± 329.6 seconds) than in ATS (220.7 ± 88.5 seconds) and in STS (317.6 ± 158.5 seconds). The delta of the HR decrease at 60 seconds post-exercise was greater (p < 0.00) in ATS (33.4 ± 12.7 b·min) than in STS (14.1 ± 7.2 b·min) and in ASTS (11.4 ± 7.1 b·min). In conclusion, post-exercise BP reduction was independent of the type of exercise; however, HR remained significantly greater after combination of strength and aerobic exercise, implying a reduction in cardiac VR after this type of training. Therefore, strength and conditioning professionals may prescribe aerobic, strength, or a combination of aerobic and strength exercise to assist individuals concerned with BP control, thus allowing for variety in training while similarly impacting post-exercise SBP regardless of desired exercise modality.
BackgroundAsthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease characterized by reversible obstruction, inflammation and hyperresponsiveness to different stimulus. Aerobic and breathing exercises have been demonstrated to benefit asthmatic patients; however, there is no evidence comparing the effectiveness of these treatments.Methods/designThis is a prospective, comparative, blinded, and randomized clinical trial with 2 groups that will receive distinct interventions. Forty-eight asthmatic adults with optimized medical treatment will be randomly divided into either aerobic (AG) or breathing exercises (BG). Patients will perform breathing or aerobic exercise twice a week for 3 months, totalizing 24 sessions of 40 minutes each. Before intervention, both groups will complete an educational program consisting of 2 educational classes. Before and after interventions, the following parameters will be quantified: clinical control (main outcome), health related quality of life, levels of anxiety and depression, daily living physical activity and maximal exercise capacity (secondary outcome). Hyperventilation syndrome symptoms, autonomic nervous imbalance, thoracoabdominal kinematics, inflammatory cells in the sputum, fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) and systemic inflammatory cytokines will also be evaluated as possible mechanisms to explain the benefits of both interventions.DiscussionAlthough the benefits of breathing and aerobic exercises have been extensively studied, the comparison between both has never been investigated. Furthermore, the findings of our results will allow us to understand its application and suitability to patients that will have more benefits for every intervention optimizing its effect.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov; Identifier: NCT02065258.
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