High-velocity resistance exercise protocols in older women: effects on cardiovascular response

Acute cardiovascular responses to different high-velocity resistance exercise protocols were compared in untrained older women. Twelve apparently healthy volunteers (62.6 ± 2.9 y) performed three different protocols in the bench press (BP). All protocols involved three sets of 10 repetitions performed with a 10RM load and 2 minutes of rest between sets. The continuous protocol (CP) involved ten repetitions with no pause between repetitions. The discontinuous protocols were performed with a pause of five (DP5) or 15 (DP15) seconds between the fifth and sixth repetitions. Heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), rate pressure product (RPP), Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE), and blood lactate (BLa) were assessed at baseline and at the end of all exercise sets. Factorial ANOVA was used to compare the cardiovascular response among different protocols. Compared to baseline, HR and RPP were significantly (p < 0.05) higher after the third set in all protocols. HR and RPP were significantly (p < 0.05) lower in DP5 and DP15 compared with CP for the BP exercise. Compared to baseline, RPE increased significantly (p < 0.05) with each subsequent set in all protocols. Blood lactate concentration during DP5 and DP15 was significantly lower than CP. It appears that discontinuous high-velocity resistance exercise has a lower cardiovascular demand than continuous resistance exercise in older women. Key pointsThe assessment of cardiovascular responses to high-velocity resistance exercise in older individuals is very important for exercise prescription and rehabilitation in elderly population.Discontinuous protocol decrease myocardial oxygen consumption (HR x SBP) during the performance of dynamic high-velocity resistance exercise in older women.The decrease in RPP (~ 8.5%) during the discontinuous protocol has clinical implications when developing high-velocity resistance exercise strategies for elderly individuals.