Comparison of Post-Exercise Hypotension Responses in Paralympic Powerlifting Athletes after Completing Two Bench Press Training Intensities
Ângelo de Almeida Paz, Felipe J. Aidar, Dihogo Gama de Matos, Raphael Fabrício de Souza, Marzo Edir Da Silva‐Grigoletto, Roland van den Tillaar, Rodrigo Ramírez‐Campillo, Fábio Yuzo Nakamura, Manoel da Cunha Costa, Albená Nunes-Silva, Anselmo de Athayde Costa e Silva, Anderson Carlos Marçal, Víctor Machado Reis
Abstract
Background and objective: Post-exercise hypotension, the reduction of blood pressure after a bout of exercise, is of great clinical relevance. Resistance exercise training is considered an important contribution to exercise training programs for hypertensive individuals and athletes. In this context, post-exercise hypotension could be clinically relevant because it would maintain blood pressure of hypertensive individuals transiently at lower levels during day-time intervals, when blood pressure is typically at its highest levels. The aim of this study was to compare the post-exercise cardiovascular effects on Paralympic powerlifting athletes of two typical high-intensity resistance-training sessions, using either five sets of five bench press repetitions at 90% 1 repetition maximum (1RM) or five sets of three bench press repetitions at 95% 1RM. Materials and Methods: Ten national-level Paralympic weightlifting athletes (age: 26.1 ± 6.9 years; body mass: 76.8 ± 17.4 kg) completed the two resistance-training sessions, one week apart, in a random order. Results: Compared with baseline values, a reduction of 5–9% in systolic blood pressure was observed after 90% and 95% of 1RM at 20–50 min post-exercise. Furthermore, myocardial oxygen volume and double product were only significantly increased immediately after and 5 min post-exercise, while the heart rate was significantly elevated after the resistance training but decreased to baseline level by 50 min after training for both training conditions. Conclusions: A hypotensive response can be expected in elite Paralympic powerlifting athletes after typical high-intensity type resistance-training sessions.