Arterial blood pressure response to heavy resistance exercise

Abstract

. Arterial blood pressure response to heavy resistance exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 58(3): 785-790, 1985.-The purpose of this study was to record the blood pressure response to heavy weight-lifting exercise in five experienced body builders. Blood pressure was directly recorded by means of a capacitance transducer connected to a catheter in the brachial artery. Intrathoracic pressure with the Valsalva maneuver was recorded as mouth pressure by having the subject maintain an open glottis while expiring against a column of Hg during the lifts. Exercises included single-arm curls, overhead presses, and both double-and single-leg presses performed to failure at 80, 90, 95, and 100% of maximum. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures rose rapidly to extremely high values during the concentric contraction phase for each lift and declined with the eccentric contraction. The greatest peak pressures occurred during the double-leg press where the mean value for the group was 320/250 mmHg, with pressures in one subject exceeding 480/350 mmHg. Peak pressures with the single-arm curl exercise reached a mean group value of 255,' 190 mmHg when repetitions were continued to failure. Mouth pressures of 30-50 Torr during a single maximum lift, or as subjects approached failure with a submaximal weight, indicate that a portion of the observed increase in blood pressure was caused by a Valsalva maneuver. It was concluded that when healthy young subjects perform weight-lifting exercises the mechanical compression of blood vessels combines with a potent pressor response and a Valsalva response to produce extreme elevations in blood pressure. Pressures are extreme even when exercise is performed with a relatively small muscle mass.weight-lifting exercise; blood pressure; static contraction; small versus large muscle mass; Valsalva maneuver SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE NOW demonstratedthatregular resistance training or weight lifting is associated with ventricular wall hypertrophy (11, 12, 14, 20). Such findings are considered to be a normal adaptation to a systemic pressure overload induced by such exercise. METHODSFive healthy male volunteers (22-28 yr) served as subjects. All were experienced body builders and were fully informed of the purposes of the study and the associated risks in accordance with the institution's ethics committee.The left brachial artery of each subject was cannulated under local anesthesia with a 24-gauge Angiocath that was connected to a pressure transducer (Bell and Howell, Pasadena, CA) as illustrated in Fig. 1. The response of the transducer was verified to be linear within the range O-500 mmHg, and the system was statically calibrated against an Hg manometer by means of a calibration syringe. In addition, the system was dynamically calibrated by using square-wave pressure signals that were rapidly switched into the arterial line. These signals were then critically damped by adjusting the height of an air column in a section of low-compliance tubing inserted into the line (Fig. 1). Arterial blood pressure was cons...

Effects of muscle contraction timing during resistance training on vascular function

“…Blood pressure during normal resistance training increases to maximal values due to the resistance encountered during the lifting phase, and then it declines during the lowering phase. 26 Therefore, it is possible to hypothesize that prolongation of the lowering phase decreases the blood pressure sufficiently to suppress further increase of the blood pressure during the lifting phase. Resistance training is a powerful stimulator of sympathetic nervous system activity, which may intensify vasoconstriction through a sympathetic adrenergic vasoconstrictor effect.…”

Potential causes, mechanisms, and implications of post exercise hypotension

“…16,23,64,65 It should be noted that reductions in blood pressure in the seconds or minutes following resistance exercise can be attributed to the sudden perfusion of the previously occluded muscle mass and a transient pressure undershoot. 4 These decrements should not be confused with PEH, which is found in the prolonged minutes or hours after exercise. Although O'Connor et al 66 found elevations in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure after resistance exercise, others have found significant reductions.…”

Cardiovascular adaptation in athletes

“…The coordinated and often near maximal contraction of large skeletal muscle groups coupled with surges in catecholamine release cause transient increases in systemic blood pressure in excess of 400 mmHg. 5,6 From the perspective of the heart, isometric physiology imparts a "pressure" load that is focused largely on the left ventricle due to the fact that a competent mitral valve spares the remainder of a central cardiac apparatus. It has been shown that Valsalva physiology during isometric activity may reduce or negate the magnitude of left ventricular pressure overload due to the fact that simultaneous increases in intrathoracic pressure and intracardiac pressure effectively normalize transmural pressure, the principal determinant of myocardial work.…”